Latest Insurance News

Your Money: HIT THE ROAD.. BUT GET COVER

By MELANIE WRIGHT MILLIONS of drivers will take to the roads for the great Bank Holiday getaway next weekend. But with one in five having no breakdown cover, there are sure to be plenty of motorists stranded by the roadside. Those who don't have cover could end up paying a hefty call-out fee of up to pounds 100 at peak times in the UK, plus anything between pounds 2 and pounds 25 a mile for recovery of a broken-down car. These costs can be even more expensive if you are driving abroad. ...

Selecting the Right Variety for Your '57' With New Car Registrations Only a Couple of Weeks Away, Prospective Buyers Should Check Out the Financial Details Before Signing on the Dotted Line

By Rosemary Gallagher IN JUST a few weeks, the new "57" registration number plate for cars will be on the street. But anyone contemplating buying a new car come 1 September should do their research into how to finance it, given the plethora of options on the market. It seems too many people are getting so caught up in the excitement of getting a shiny new vehicle they could be losing out on considerable savings or signing up for a finance deal that does not suit them. One in three adm...

Pay Double If You Live in L8

By ADRIAN BUTLER AN insurance company cancelled a woman's car policy after they realised what part of Liverpool she lived in. Julie Cooney, 40, from Toxteth had been paying Hastings, for her car insurance since March. But this week bosses at the company told her they had made a mistake in offering her cover for pounds 734 a year. They offered to give her a new policy but warned she would have to pay around double the amount because of her L8 postcode. Today she said: "It's outrageou...

New License Law Has Ripple Effect on Illegal Immigrants

By Brent D. Wistrom, The Wichita Eagle, Kan. Aug. 19--Every weekday morning, a 42-year-old man in El Dorado prays that he gets to his aviation job in Wichita and back home to his family without a car accident or a traffic stop. He has a license and auto insurance. He says he has been paying taxes since he got here 12 years ago. And he says he pays into a Social Security system he'll probably never benefit from. But he's an illegal immigrant from Zacatecas, Mexico. Under a new state law,...

U.S. Judge Pans Background Check for Trial Witness

By Anthony M. Destefano, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Aug. 18--A federal judge in Brooklyn has criticized prosecutors for not promptly discovering incriminating information about a key witness in an extortion case stemming from poker games at the Rasputin restaurant. Witness problems and other issues led Judge Brian Cogan on Thursday to strongly hint to prosecutors that they should think about dismissing the indictment or coming to a settlement with the defendants, brothers Michael and Alex Mi...

Low-Cost Auto Insurance Program Expands to 42 Counties in State: Lower-Income Drivers Can Get Liability Policy for Less Than $400.

By Mark Glover, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Aug. 18--A state program offering low-cost auto insurance to motorists with limited incomes will be expanded to 42 counties from 31, with most of the additions in Northern California. Under the program, formally known as the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program, eligible drivers can obtain liability coverage for less than $400 a year. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced this week that the program is being expanded to Amad...

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK Entering the Maze

Before you read this, take a look at the editorial cartoon. It's not by our award-winning cartoonist, Ed Gamble. The chart is real; it shows the result of the elimination of Florida's no-fault insurance system if it sunsets as planned on Oct. 1. Only government could concoct a system so ridiculous and call it an improvement. Be sure to have your pain relievers handy, because reading this chart is sure to give you a headache. Now imagine you have been in an accident, and double your ...

EDITORIAL: Don't Let PIP RIP

By South Florida Sun-Sentinel Aug. 17--ISSUE: PIP -- RIP? Florida's no-fault auto insurance apparently is going the way of the dodo bird. Unless state lawmakers agree to extend it, the mandatory coverage, known as Personal Injury Protection or PIP, goes away on Oct. 1. If that happens, motorists can anticipate even more frustration -- and undoubtedly increased costs -- in a state already undergoing a crisis in the insurance arena. Under PIP, motorists are required to pay for coverage ...

Coalition Urges Lawmakers to Address No-Fault Law: Lawmakers Are Being Bombarded With Demands From Healthcare Providers and Others to Fix the State's No-Fault Auto Law Before It Expires

By Beatrice E. Garcia, The Miami Herald Aug. 17--As the expiration of Florida's controversial no-fault auto insurance law nears and no acceptable replacement has been put forth, a new coalition of 37 healthcare providers, first-responders, health insurers and some auto insurers is urging lawmakers to take action. The group, called the Coalition to Protect Florida's Drivers, is petitioning Gov. Charlie Crist, Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio to address the auto ins...

Brought to Justice

The following people were dealt with at Cardiff Magistrates Court: Kerry Louise Hobbs, 19, of Browning Close, Llanrumney, Cardiff, was fined pounds 75 with pounds 50 court costs after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage to a car. Sophie Ann Holloway, 21, of Newent Road, St Mellons, Cardiff, was fined pounds 75 with pounds 60 court costs and told to pay pounds 50 compensation to her victim, after pleading guilty to assault. Natalie Jay Palfrey, 19, of Hendre Road, Rumney, Cardiff, was g...