Latest Insurance News

BRIEF: Brooke Unit Buys 60 Insurance Agency Locations From Chicago Firm

By The Kansas City Star, Mo. Sep. 27--Brooke Franchise Corp. today said it its buying 60 insurance agency locations associated with J and P Holdings Inc. of Chicago. Brooke Franchise, a subsidiary of Overland Park-based Brooke Corp., said the acquisition is expected to close Friday. No financial terms were disclosed. In a news release, Brooke Franchise said the agencies sell auto insurance under the trade names of Lone Star Auto, Insurance Xpress, Car Insurance Store, Hallberg Insurance...

Zurich Partners With TomTom

Zurich Financial Services Group has announced that it is entering into a partnership with Dutch navigation systems maker TomTom. According to the agreement, Zurich customers in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will be able to receive an incentive to purchase TomTom's satellite navigation devices. Similarly, TomTom customers will gain discounts from Zurich on their car insurance. As Zurich's insurance products and TomTom's navigation devices are both based on the idea of security ...

South Carolina Drivers Paying Less for Auto Insurance Premiums

By Peter Hull, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Sep. 27--The average auto insurance premium paid by Palmetto State motorists dropped in 2005 for the first time since 1999, driven by greater competition, fewer accidents and smaller claims. South Carolina motorists paid an average $752.56 a year on auto insurance two years ago, according to a study of the most recently available data by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. That was nearly $77 below the national average ...

BRIEF: State Has Insurance Info

By The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo. Sep. 27--DENVER -- The Colorado Division of Insurance has created two new ways on its Web site for Coloradans to get more information about insurance companies before they buy. On the division's Web site at www.dora.state.co.us/insurance/index.htm, insurance buyers can get a Consumer Complaint Ratio Report and search the number of complaints against specific companies. The search will display the complaint ratio, total complaint counts, the number and perc...

No Fault Is Added To Special Session

By Russell Ray, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Sep. 27--A deal to preserve Florida's no-fault auto insurance law will be added to the special legislative session that begins next week, legislative leaders said Wednesday. Before lawmakers take up the issue, the law that requires drivers to buy at least $10,000 of personal injury protection will expire. The PIP protection pays for medical treatments no matter who causes the accident. Insurance companies contend a change by the Legislature would be c...

Wesleyan in Cash Reward ; FINANCE: Society Grants Pounds 100 Loyalty Bonus

By Jon Griffin BIRMINGHAM-based Wesleyan Assurance Society is sending its 84,000 members an early Christmas present in the shape of pounds 100 loyalty bonuses. The cashback scheme is expected to cost the society up to pounds 8 million and is part of an ongoing initiative designed to reward members' loyalty. Members throughout the UK will be sent a voucher, starting this month, entitling them to pounds 100 cashback when they take out a new product or top up an existing one. Eligible pr...

No-Fault Insurance System to End Shortly Before Legislators Renew It

By Randy Diamond, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Sep. 25--Florida's no-fault auto insurance system probably will expire for at least a couple of days before lawmakers get to it. Although there were plans in the offing for another special session before the Sept. 30 expiration date of personal injury protection, or PIP, insiders say it is more likely that legislators will pick up the matter during the special session on the state's fiscal crisis, set to begin Oct. 3. No-fault auto insurance c...

Critics Hit Insurance Plan ; Say Records Should Drive Auto Rates

By JAY FITZGERALD Consumer groups are warning that a proposed new auto-insurance system could lead to insurers using information about people's frequent flier miles, student loans, newspaper subscriptions and other factors to set future rates for motorists. The groups are also charging Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes of being "hostile" to advocates' concerns in general as the state moves toward a new "managed competition" where insurers would set auto insurance rates. Burnes, who h...

Insurance Deadline Looms: Personal-Injury Policy Coverage Ends Oct. 1

By Kevin Wadlow, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Sep. 22--A Keys insurance agent says debate over changes to Florida auto-insurance policies amounts to "the shell game they play in Tallahassee." Monroe County's state representative, who will vote on the measure, likened the process to "a special-interest food fight." The state's 36-year history with no-fault auto insurance will come to a halt Oct. 1, and no one knows what - if anything - will replace it. "It looks like they're coming ...

Green Issues Are Important to Residents

OVER half of Glasgow people are concerned about their environmental legacy and admit to taking it seriously. In a survey, 90-per cent of people said they would go green if it was easier but the same amount said they wouldn't pay extra for greener services. Scottish-based Green Insurance Company, which offers car insurance which will offset 100-per cent of customers' car emissions at no additional cost, carried out the poll. Originally published by Newsquest Media Group. (c) 2007 Eveni...