Latest Insurance News

Save Low Rates for Home Folks

Unless you want to head west to the Dakotas, Idaho or Iowa, we're the place for the nation's lowest auto insurance rates. However, that enviable ranking could be history if out-of- staters keep coming in droves with fraud in mind. Legislation passed by the General Assembly and awaiting Gov. Mike Easley's signature takes direct aim at the scammers. Yet the watered- down final version may not get the job done. According to the N.C. Department of Insurance, "tens of thousands" of drivers f...

Computers to Check Car Insurance

By R.A. Dyer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Aug. 24--AUSTIN -- Police will soon have the technology to automatically verify whether a motorist has valid car insurance. But the new system -- it's officially called the Texas Financial Responsibility Verification Program -- has raised concerns from some industry representatives. It is expected to be operational in early 2008, a year later than originally planned. How it works Under the system, insurance information will pop up on the in-...

Judge Rules for Auto Insurer ; Says Putting Surcharge on Driver in Accident No Admission of Fault

By JULIE JETTE A single justice of the state Appeals Court has ruled that an insurance company isn't necessarily liable to cover injuries sustained in an accident just because it imposes a penalty on the driver who caused the accident. In his decision on Tuesday, Judge James McHugh said that a surcharge placed on a driver is not tantamount to a company's admission that the driver is at fault for purposes of compensating an injured party. The ruling goes back to a Dec. 31, 1998, accident...

A Bee in the Bonnet

INSECTS bug motorists so much that 4 per cent of drivers have had an accident trying to avoid them, it was revealed today. The damage caused to vehicles in such crashes is estimated at pounds 44 million a year, said car insurance company esure which conducted a survey. The poll showed that 21 per cent of motorists admitted taking their hands off the wheel to swat an insect and 4 per cent slammed on the brakes when one came into the car. (c) 2007 Coventry Evening Telegraph. Provided by P...

EDITORIAL: Lawmakers Must Take Action on Personal Injury Protection

By South Florida Sun-Sentinel Aug. 24--ISSUE: Florida's latest insurance crisis is here. The state of Florida faces another insurance crisis, and once again confusion runs rampant while solutions seem scarce. State lawmakers can't reach a consensus on addressing the problem, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is having difficulty interpreting the law. One thing is clear, motorists will be left in a lurch as the state's no fault automobile insurance law is se...

Your MONEY: Loan Gimmicks Can Drive Up Cost of a New Car ; CASHPOINT

By James Coney DON'T be lured by insurance and loan gimmicks if you are buying a new car. Tesco is offering pounds 100 off a sat nav set for signing up online with its car insurance. Barclays has a specialist car loan package, which offers a typical rate of 7.4 per cent and then money off its car insurance and RAC breakdown. But it is often better to buy these 'extras' individually when you've found a cheaper loan or insurance elsewhere. If you don't have the cash, then taking out a...

State Agency Rules Drivers Will Still Need Insurance If No-Fault Law Expires

By Linda Kleindienst, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Aug. 23--TALLAHASSEE -- Think you're confused about pending changes in Florida's auto insurance law? The state may be as perplexed as you are. In an embarrassing reversal, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles now admits it fouled up its interpretation of state law. If Florida's no-fault law expires Oct. 1, as it's now scheduled to do, drivers will no longer need to buy $10,000 in personal injury protection. Until th...

Out-of-State Drivers Enjoy Low N.C. Rates

By MARK BINKER RALEIGH -- Auto insurance rates for North Carolina motorists are some of the lowest in the nation. That's a fact that both attracts and is threatened by drivers from out of state who register their cars here to buy cheap insurance. Over the past few years, the N.C. Department of Insurance has noticed an increasing number of claims -- requests for payment after an accident -- coming from the New York and New Jersey area, said Al Koehler, director of the Investigations Divisi...

Scheme Provided Fake Texas Auto Documents to Dozens of Immigrants: Driver's License Operation Extends to Car Inspections, Titles, Plates, Officials Say

By Emily Ramshaw, The Dallas Morning News Aug. 21--AUSTIN -- Dozens of foreign citizens who came to Dallas between 2003 and 2005 to obtain fraudulent Texas driver's licenses also received falsified Texas auto inspections, vehicle titles, license plates and insurance policies, most without ever bringing their cars here, state officials confirmed. So far, the only criminal charges in the case are against the man federal authorities call the ringleader of the driver's license operation, 44-y...

Insurer Looks to Dodge OxyContin Pain

By Soule, Alexander An insurance company hopes to avoid covering millions of dollars in fines gainst the former CEO of Purdue Pharma L.P. after his misdemeanor conviction last month of misleading customers about the company's OxyContin pain relief medication. Federal Insurance Co. seeks a ruling that the directors and officers (D&O) liability policy it issued to Purdue was voided after the Stamford company did not include the insurance carrier in negotiations for a legal settlement. At pu...