Latest Insurance News

Battling the Gecko

By Scott Miller BLOOMINGTON - Chicago Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano trotted home to extend a late-inning lead in a recent game - a "State Farm Insurance run," proclaimed WGN radio announcer Pat Hughes. Those watching the game on television may have noticed the State Farm logo on the Wrigley Field bricks behind home plate. It's another of a growing number of State Farm plugs, as the Bloomington insurer boosts advertising to maintain name recognition in an increasingly competitive aut...

Friends Roped in to Con Mobile Phone Company

Four "talented and promising" young men who set up a mobile phone scam worth thousands of pounds were spared jail yesterday. Alan Dobson came up with a series of illegal schemes to rid himself of crippling debts he had run up after his fledgling business failed, and roped in three of his friends. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Dobson, 24, sold contracts to identical twins Paul and Richard Hanson, and David Arthur, involving phones worth up to pounds 250. The deals allowed customers to...

Mass. Might Ease Auto-Rate Controls

By Bruce Mohl, The Boston Globe May 19--Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes yesterday signaled she is seriously considering introducing some form of competitive rate-setting to the Massachusetts auto insurance system. At a hearing on whether the state is ready for auto insurance competition next year, Burnes did not say what she plans to do, but her questions indicated she was trying to find a way to give auto insurers more power to set their own rates. Massachusetts is the only state...

KFC, Geico Run YouTube Videos in Ads

Yum Brands Inc.'s Kentucky Friend Chicken fast-food chain has created U.S. TV commercials made with YouTube and other sharing-sites videos, the company says. The commercials, to start airing on American Idol Tuesday, include snippets of Web videos showing people ostensibly celebrating the chain's new menu of chicken with no trans fats, the company says. The people -- pumping fists, jumping for joy and generally going bonkers -- are not really reacting to the new menu, USA Today reported. ...

Five to Be Honored By Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame

By Pollock, Jim Five men will be inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in this year's ceremony, scheduled for May 16 at Drake University's Olmsted Center. The honorees are Dean Brooks, Iowa manager for State Auto Insurance Co.; Paul Siedenburg, a retired vice president of Farm Bureau Insurance; Robert Skow, chief executive officer of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa; Robert Verhille, a retired life insurance agent in Cedar Rapids; and the late John Gunn, a founder of Employe...

Young, Single and Not Insured? Get Hunting for Best Packages

By Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger's Personal Finance If you're on your own, you need insurance. The trick is figuring out what you need and then finding it at the right price. Until you reach age 25, auto insurance premiums can be a major budget-buster. But prices for the same coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars from one company to another. When Keisha Fuller was in her early 20s, she decided not to buy a car until she found an auto-insurance policy that cost less than $1,000 per year...

Insurance at Pounds 3,000 a Year?

Young drivers could see their annual car insurance premiums soar to more than pounds 3,000 by 2017, it has been claimed. Motorists aged 17-21 are already paying more than double the annual average insurance, research from uSwitch.com found. Over the past ten years, the cost of car insurance for young drivers has gone up by 92 per cent. And by 2017, it could cost a young driver as much as pounds 3,097 to insure a Ford Fiesta. Average premiums for all drivers are now around pounds 409 a...

State Farm Battles the Gecko

By Scott Miller, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. May 21--BLOOMINGTON -- Chicago Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano trotted home to extend a late-inning lead in a recent game -- a "State Farm Insurance run," proclaimed WGN radio announcer Pat Hughes. Those watching the game on television may have noticed the State Farm logo on the Wrigley Field bricks behind home plate. It's another of a growing number of State Farm plugs, as the Bloomington insurer boosts advertising to maintain name r...

Firm Offers Car Insurance Break to New Parents

By The Idaho Statesman, Boise May 19--New Idaho parents can get a discount on car insurance under a new policy announced Friday by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, "Our research confirms a common observation: As a group, new parents are more careful drivers than other drivers of the same age," said Jim Ignozzitto, Farmers' Idaho state executive director. The discount can be as much as 5 percent and applies to families with children under age 7. A typical Idaho family can save $50 t...

Money People: Ecofriendly Car Insurance Scheme

By Simon Read A NEW ecofriendly car insurance scheme will offset 100 per cent of drivers' carbon dioxide emissions during their policy. Details: www.ibuyeco.co.uk. (c) 2007 People, The; London. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.