Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Occidental Agrees to Alter Rating System for Massachusetts Drivers
Apr 20 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said that Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina has agreed to make significant changes to the way it rates Bay State drivers. Occidental, which announced...
Crime Warp: Recession Driving a Rise in Vehicle Give-Ups
Apr 20 2009 // As America’s economy slogs through this once-in-a-generation recession, stressed-out consumers are literally being driven to desperation. Growing numbers of drivers around the U.S. are illegally dumping their...
Delaware Driving Violations Are No Longer Misdemeanors
Apr 17 2009 // Delaware House lawmakers have approved a bill that aims to help job seekers by classifying driving offenses as violations, not misdemeanors. Rep. John Mitchell says he sponsored the bill because he thinks applicants...
The Carlet Letter? New Jersey Tags New Drivers with Decal
Apr 17 2009 // Would you drive any differently if you knew there was a teenager behind the wheel of the car in front of you? You might find out soon. A first-in-the-nation law in New Jersey will require new drivers ages 21 and younger to...
Farmers To Acquire AIG’s Personal Auto Group for $1.9 Billion
Apr 16 2009 // Los Angeles-based the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has announced it will acquire American International Group’s (AIG’s) Personal Auto Group, which includes 21st Century Insurance Co. The acquisition...
Massachusetts Drivers Can View Driving Records Online
Apr 15 2009 // Massachusetts drivers can now view their records online. The Registry of Motor Vehicles announced Monday that drivers can see their driving records on the Registry’s Web site and download them or request certified...
Texting and Driving to Mean Ticketing in Cleveland, Ohio
Apr 15 2009 // Cleveland, Ohio’s city council has voted to outlaw text-messaging while driving in the city. The proposal approved by council members on April 13 now goes to Mayor Frank Jackson and would take effect 90 days after he...
Occidental Agrees to Alter Rating System for Massachusetts Drivers
Apr 10 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said that Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina has agreed to make significant changes to the way it rates Bay State drivers. Occidental, which announced...
Tennessee House Panel OKs Ban on Texting-while-Driving
Apr 9 2009 // A proposal to prohibit texting while driving has advanced out of the House Transportation Committee despite the vocal objections of some members of the panel. Pegram Republican Rep. Phillip Johnson noted that drivers can...
Louisiana Agents See More Drivers Dropping Insurance
Apr 6 2009 // The Louisiana Workforce Commission said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 3.4 percent for the week ending March 28 and remained at rates approaching double of those from a year ago. And amid these tough...
Philly Committee: Ban Handheld Cell Phone Use for Drivers
Apr 6 2009 // A City Council committee has approved a proposal that would ban the use of cell phones while driving in Philadelphia. If the ban is passed by the full council – possibly as early as next week – dialing, texting...
Allstate Tests Brain Fitness Exercise Software and Driver Safety in Pennsylvania
Mar 31 2009 // Posit Science, a brain fitness company, announced today that it has extended its relationship with auto insurer Allstate. The companies began working together six months ago in a program to determine whether brain fitness...
West Virginia House Targets Drivers’ Cell Phone Use
Mar 31 2009 // If you’re on the phone while driving and have your hands on your cell instead of the wheel, that could mean a misdemeanor charge in West Virginia. Legislation passed 80-18 by the House to the Senate aims to limit...
New Kansas Law Bans Cell Phone Use by Young Drivers
Mar 30 2009 // Many young drivers in Kansas won’t be allowed to use their cell phones while behind the wheel starting next year. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed legislation that restricts cell phone use for some teenage drivers...
GAINSCO Reports Net Loss for 2008
Mar 27 2009 // Dallas-based insurer, Gainsco Inc., announced net losses for the fourth quarter and the year for 2008, but the losses are less than those the company reported in 2007. The company said its net loss for the fourth quarter...
Texting While Driving Already Illegal in Tennessee, Says AG
Mar 26 2009 // A Tennessee attorney general opinion says sending or reading texts while driving falls under a law prohibiting the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle. Rep. Vince Dean, an East Ridge Republican and chairman of the House...
Philly Committee: Ban Handheld Cell Phone Use for Drivers
Mar 26 2009 // A City Council committee has approved a proposal that would ban the use of cell phones while driving in Philadelphia. If the ban is passed by the full council _ possibly as early as next week _ dialing, texting or...
Esurance Exploring Massachusetts Personal Auto Market
Mar 24 2009 // Esurance, a San Francisco-based personal auto insurance direct writer, has taken preliminary steps to obtain a license to sell auto insurance in Massachusetts — although the company says it has no immediate plans to...
Younger Drivers Distracted by Music Says Australian Insurer NRMA
Mar 23 2009 // According to a study from Australian insurer NRMA, part of the Insurance Australia Group (IAG), younger drivers, who listen to music while at the wheel, are acting dangerously. NRMA said its research “revealed almost...
West Virginia Lawmakers Delay Drunk Driver Lock Expansion
Mar 18 2009 // A proposal to put interlocks in the vehicles of every West Virginian convicted of drunken driving appears to be on hold this year while lawmakers await the results of an earlier expansion of the program. But a West...
