Latest Auto Headlines

All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.

NAFTA Ruling Expected to Allow U.S. Access to Mexican Trucks

Feb 12 2001 // A North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel is expected to uphold an interim ruling from November allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. Many in the insurance industry say they will cautiously...

CAR-BUYING QUIRKS

Feb 12 2001 // A survey of consumers’ new car-buying attitudes conducted by Progressive Insurance finds that many people place a higher value on the looks of a new car than on its safety features. Ranked in order of importance to...

BILL OF RIGHTS REQUIRED

Feb 12 2001 // A new California law went into effect Jan. 1, 2001, requiring insurers to provide insureds with an Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights. All insurers that issue automobile liability or collision policies must...

NJ Commissioner Unveils Auto Territory Draft Standards

Feb 7 2001 // New Jersey Banking and Insurance Commissioner Karen L. Suter shared the proposed draft standards with the Territorial Rating Plan Advisory Commission. The 50-year-old rating map used by automobile insurers will be redrawn...

Progressive.com Survey Uncovers New Car Buying Attitudes

Feb 5 2001 // A new survey by Progressive Insurance finds that people place a premium on the look and the amenities offered in a new car rather than its safety features. The survey found that the top five considerations when purchasing...

Progressive.com Survey Uncovers New Car Buying Attitudes

Feb 5 2001 // A new survey by Progressive Insurance finds that people place a premium on the look and the amenities offered in a new car rather than its safety features. The survey found that the top five considerations when purchasing...

Good, Bad Vibes from Industry Leaders

Feb 5 2001 // If you weren’t able to attend the recent Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum in New York City, we can sum up CEO attitudes about the New Year in this way: The market is hardening, although not fast enough; losses...

Fireman’s Fund Shuts Down Direct Auto Program; To Lay Off More Than 250 Missouri Employees

Jan 31 2001 // Fireman’s Fund insurance laid off 68 people last week at its Earth City, Mo. office, and 197 more jobs will be phased out as the insurer eliminates a line of auto coverage according to a St. Louis Times-Dispatch...

New Law Requires Insurers to Provide Consumer Bill of Rights

Jan 30 2001 // A new law went into effect Jan. 1, 2001, requiring insurers to provide insureds with an Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights. All insurers that issue automobile liability or collision policies must distribute the...

Good, Bad Vibes from Industry Leaders

Jan 29 2001 // If you weren’t able to attend the recent Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum in New York City, we can sum up CEO attitudes about the New Year in this way: The market is hardening, although not fast enough; losses...

Insurers Cite Data Limits on Vehicle Defects

Jan 26 2001 // Four insurance trade associations have said they cannot supply data to federal safety regulators that will indicate whether certain passenger vehicles pose a potential danger to consumers. In a joint statement filed last...

Esurance Extends Auto Insurance to Nebraska, Utah

Jan 24 2001 // Esurance Inc., a national quote-to-claims Internet-based provider of personal insurance, has expanded its auto insurance business to 26 states with the addition of Nebraska and Utah. Esurance now offers auto insurance...

TurboCoverage Launches Web-Based Auto Insurance Service For Auto Dealerships

Jan 22 2001 // TurboCoverage, a web-based auto insurance service exclusively for auto dealerships, has launched an insurance platform that enables uninsured car-buyers to instantly secure coverage in the dealer showroom and drive away...

AUTO RATES TO CLIMB

Jan 22 2001 // Claiming they are basing their rates on information more current than that used by the Texas Department of Insurance to set benchmark rates, several of Texas’ largest auto insurers are raising their rates. State Farm...

MetLife Offers Cash, Bonds to Teen Drivers

Jan 22 2001 // MetLife Auto & Home announced that it is introducing the company’s “Teens on the Road to Safety” program to insureds in the states of Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, and...

Auto Arson, Highway Safety Subject of New Mighigan Laws

Jan 19 2001 // Michigan Gov. John Engler recently signed several bills that would help crack down on auto arson, improve young driver training and prohibit passengers riding in open pickup truck beds on the highway. Of special note is...

KKR Unit to Buy Two Reliance Group Auto Insurance Units

Jan 15 2001 // Bristol West Insurance Group, a unit of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., plans to purchase two units of troubled insurer Reliance Group Holdings to beef up its non-standard auto insurance offerings. Bristol subsidiary...

Aggregators are Leading the Charge to Sell Auto Insurance on the Web

Jan 15 2001 // Aggregators in the United States and Europe are leading the charge to sell auto and other insurance over the Internet, but only a few of these sites will survive, according to a Meridien Research report that focuses on the...

ONLINE AUTO PLAN NIXED

Jan 15 2001 // Priceline.com and insurer W.R. Berkley Corp. dropped their combined plan to create a new company to sell auto insurance online, naming current market conditions as the reason. The new company was in early development...

Aggregators Lead Charge to Sell Auto Insurance on the Web

Jan 8 2001 // Aggregators in the United States and Europe are leading the charge to sell auto and other insurance over the Internet, but only a few of these sites will survive, according to a Meridien Research report that focuses on the...