Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington State Asks Insurers to Extend Coverage to Delivery Drivers
Mar 27 2020 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is asking insurers doing business in the state to immediately extend automobile insurance coverage for personal delivery drivers to aid people temporarily assigned this duty...
Just in California Announces Telematics Product for Low-Income Drivers
Mar 27 2020 // Los Angeles, Calif.-based Just Auto Insurance Inc. has launched a telematics-based auto insurance for lower income consumers. Just’s pricing model is based on an in-house telematics model, which uses data from more...
New York Court Rules Gig Drivers Are Employees Eligible for Unemployment Benefits
Mar 27 2020 // Drivers for the online food delivery service Postmates Inc. are employees who are eligible for state unemployment insurance, New York’s top court has ruled. The ruling upsets the “gig” business model of...
Oklahoma Commissioner: Allstate Eases Personal Auto Terms for Delivery Drivers
Mar 26 2020 // Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner says Allstate Insurance Co. is voluntarily easing certain policy restrictions to aid delivery drivers using their personal vehicles for delivery of food and medicine during the...
Coronavirus and the Auto Exposure
Mar 24 2020 // Over the last several days the VU has fielded several auto insurance related questions. These questions cannot be classed simply as personal auto or business auto questions because the most common question involves both...
Consumer Groups Want Auto Premiums to Reflect Coronavirus Curb on Driving
Mar 24 2020 // The shutdown of workplaces and gathering spots around the country to slow the spread of coronavirus may lead to a sharp reduction in auto insurance claims. Two consumer groups want to make sure that insurance carriers...
Ban on Holding Cellphone While Driving Begins July 1 in Indiana
Mar 23 2020 // Drivers will be banned from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads starting in July under legislation Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law to combat distracted driving. Holcomb signed the measure on March 18, making...
Tesla, Drivers, Regulators All to Blame for Fatal Crash, Says Safety Board
Mar 23 2020 // The National Transportation Safety Board says two drivers, Tesla and lax regulation of new partially automated driving systems are to blame for a fatal 2019 crash in Florida involving a Tesla on Autopilot. The NTSB, in a...
U.S. Agency Rewrite of Rules Will Speed Up Arrival of Self-Driving Cars
Mar 17 2020 // The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday it was proposing sweeping changes to U.S. safety requirements to speed the deployment of self-driving vehicles without human controls. The agency said...
Driver Injured in Accident Not Eligible for Workers’ Comp After Failing to Wear Seat Belt
Mar 16 2020 // The Court of Appeals of Virginia has upheld a Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission decision that workers’ comp benefits cannot be awarded to a truck driver injured in an accident after failing to wear a...
Oklahoma House Passes Bill Changing Commercial Driver’s License Renewal Process
Mar 11 2020 // A bill shifting renewal of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) from offices of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles to local tag agencies passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives this afternoon. House Bill 1966 was...
Uber Drivers Take Backseat in Clash Between Safety and Customer Privacy
Mar 11 2020 // Margaret Bordelon can still feel the hands of the drunk man who tried to pull her in for a kiss at the end of his Uber ride last September in Lafayette, Louisiana. An Uber driver for only a few months, Bordelon, 45,...
Lawsuit: Teens’ Bodies Misidentified, Switched After Fatal Florida Car Crash
Mar 10 2020 // The parents of two teenagers killed in a car crash are suing the Florida Highway Patrol and others, claiming the bodies of their daughters were misidentified and switched. The lawsuits follow a July 29 crash in the...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law Takes Effect
Mar 9 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law went into effect February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in the...
Drivers at Risk: Why Delivery Apps Might Leave Clients Without Coverage
Mar 9 2020 // Why Delivery Apps Might Leave Clients Without Coverage Just a few years ago, a grocery run or a run to Chick-fil-A was to get something you needed and bring it home. These days, it seems like a run anywhere can include a...
Boise Passes Hand-Held Phone Ban for Drivers
Mar 6 2020 // It’s now illegal to use a hand-held device while driving in Boise. The city council unanimously approved an ordinance banning hand-held cell phone use while driving during a meeting on Tuesday. The new rule means...
South Dakota Legislation Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving Sent to Governor
Mar 5 2020 // A bill passed by the South Dakota Legislature bans the use of smartphones and other electronic communication devices while driving, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) reported. The APCIA supports...
French Court Deals Blow to Uber by Giving Drivers Employee Status
Mar 5 2020 // France’s top court has recognized the right of an Uber driver to be considered an employee, a ruling that could upend the U.S. firm’s business model and potentially require it to pay more taxes and benefits...
Ford to Help Customers Connect to Allstate Insurance Driver Tracking Program
Mar 4 2020 // Allstate Corp. struck a deal with Ford Motor Co. that will allow some of the automaker’s customers to share data with the insurer for its program that tracks mileage. The majority of Ford and Lincoln 2020 model-year...
U.S. Lags Europe in Driver Assist Technology Safety Testing
Mar 2 2020 // Autopilot, Super Cruise and Drive Pilot are different names given to technology that automates steering and braking in a growing number of vehicles, but none of it can safely “pilot” cars without regular human...
