Latest Auto Headlines

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

Firm Battling over Hemp Product Idaho Says Is Pot

Feb 5 2019 // A company has filed a lawsuit against Idaho State Police and Ada County after authorities seized nearly 7,000 pounds of cannabis from a truck headed to Colorado, the Idaho Statesman reported. Authorities who stopped the...

North Carolina Auto Insurers Request 7.6% Rate Increase

Feb 5 2019 // The annual auto insurance filing from the North Carolina Rate Bureau to the North Carolina Department of Insurance calls for an overall statewide average increase of 7.6 percent, according to a statement from Insurance...

Insurance Tries to Keep Up with Sharing Economy

Feb 4 2019 // As more and more consumers click for services and borrow rather than buy, the sharing economy is benefitting. According to Harvard Business Review, the sharing or on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million...

Parent-Centric Auto Insurer, Apparent, Launches in Texas

Feb 4 2019 // Apparent Insurance, a new auto insurance company designed for parents by parents, has begun offering coverage in Texas. The company has been established to provide specialized coverage and services for parents at every...

CAUTION: Safety U-Turn for Truckers with Animals

Feb 4 2019 // Hours of Service, Other Safety Exemptions for Livestock Haulers Raise Concerns Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting It was sometime around 4 a.m. on a cool, spring morning when James McGilvray lost control of his...

An Old Dog Up to New Tricks

Feb 4 2019 // For the seventh consecutive year, commercial auto is losing money. Despite rate increases in 23 of the past 25 quarters, the combined ratio topped 111 percent in 2017. The line has been a weak spot for many insurers,...

Big 3 Drive Personal Auto Insurance Recovery;

Feb 4 2019 // Signs of Rate Hike Fatigue Ahead Steady improvement for U.S. personal auto insurance companies has culminated in the sector’s best underwriting performance in 10 years, according to Fitch Ratings in a report. The...

Michigan Senate GOP: Cutting Car Insurance Rates a Priority

Feb 4 2019 // Michigan Senate Republicans have proposed legislation that would make it optional for Michigan drivers to buy what is now mandatory unlimited medical coverage. Senate Bill 1 was the first to be introduced by GOP senators...

U-Haul, Former Manager Plead Guilty After Food Truck Blast in Pennsylvania

Feb 1 2019 // A U-Haul subsidiary and the former general manager of one of its Philadelphia stores have pleaded guilty after a food truck explosion that killed a woman and her teenage daughter. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the...

Federal Safety Investigators Sidelined by Shutdown Begin Heading to Crash Scenes

Feb 1 2019 // It’s been four weeks since a van carrying children from a Louisiana church to Disney World in Florida collided with a swerving tractor-trailer, igniting diesel fuel and killing seven people in a fiery crash. Now,...

Insurtech Geared to Autonomous Vehicle Coverage Grabs $5 Million in Funding

Jan 30 2019 // A startup focused on rewarding drivers and fleet owners that use autonomous vehicles and semi-autonomous car safety features has raised $5 million in seed funding. California-based Avinew’s technology uses artificial...

China’s Ping An P&C Unveils Credit-Based Smart Auto Insurance Claim Solution

Jan 30 2019 // Ping An Property and Casualty Insurance Co. of China has launched a credit-based smart auto claim solution in China, to make it easier for car owners to make claims and encourage good driving habits. The credit-based...

Octo Telematics to Provide Commercial Fleet Telematics to Mexico Auto Insurer

Jan 30 2019 // Octo Telematics, the Rome-based provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry, has partnered with Qualitas, Mexico’s largest auto insurer with operations throughout Mexico, Latin...

Allianz Enters Formal Negotiations to Buy Malaysia Car Insurer: Sources

Jan 29 2019 // Allianz Malaysia Bhd. has been chosen to progress in talks to acquire Malaysia’s second-biggest car insurer after edging out Japanese rival Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., people with knowledge of the matter...

Prime Property & Casualty Insurance Enters Kentucky Commercial Auto Market

Jan 29 2019 // Prime Property & Casualty Insurance Inc. (PPCI) has entered the Kentucky commercial auto market as an admitted carrier specializing in insurance products for distressed and substandard risks. PPCI offers the capacity...

Southeast Officials Focus on Curbing Fraud, Rising Auto Rates, Flood Insurance, Distracted Driving

Jan 29 2019 // For the seventh year in a row, the Florida insurance industry, regulators, and consumer advocates will push for reforms to the state’s assignment of benefits issue that has now become an insurance crisis, according...

Texas DOT Creating Connected, Autonomous Vehicle Task Force

Jan 28 2019 // Texas Department of Transportation says its Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) Task Force will soon become a central point for CAV advancement in Texas. The task force is designed to be a one-stop resource for...

Progressive Takes Aim at Multi-Line Insurers

Jan 25 2019 // With much of the property/casualty insurance industry’s attention focused on external threats from insurtechs and digital native companies, perhaps the greatest disruption is coming from within. Following the last...

Former Farmers, AIG Direct, 21st Century Exec DeSantis Named President, CEO of The General

Jan 18 2019 // Nashville-based auto insurer The General has appointed veteran insurance executive Tony DeSantis to the new position of president and chief executive officer, joining Chief Operating Officer Steve Tjugum as the...

Florida Jury Awards Family $500M in Wrongful Death Suit Over Car Shooting

Jan 18 2019 // A Florida jury has awarded nearly $500 million to the family of a woman fatally shot during an argument in a car in 2011. The family of 20-year-old Kalil McCoy of Jacksonville filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man...