Latest Insurance News

State Farm Cuts Auto Rates, Pays Dividends

The Capital-Journal State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the largest auto insurer in Kansas, will lower its insurance rates in Kansas 3.6 percent and give $19.8 million in dividends to its policyholders. Kansas policyholders will receive 15 percent of their semi- annual premium in a dividend paid by check. Although amounts will vary, the average dividend per vehicle in Kansas is $41. Dividend payments will begin in early April and continue throughout the year. Policyholders recei...

Holiday Britons 'Getting Better Currency Deals'

By Peter Woodman Holiday money for Britons travelling abroad is continuing to stretch further, it has been revealed. And those visiting South Africa are getting the best currency deals compared with a year ago, a survey by the Post Office found. South Africa was one of 12 countries surveyed now having better currency rates for Britons than this time last year. A total of 16 countries were surveyed. A year ago, Britons could get around 10.5 South African rand to the pound. But this has now...

Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Must Pay Back Money in Car-Insurance Scam

By Lisa Redmond, The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Apr. 3--CAMBRIDGE -- A Revere man involved in a scheme to defraud insurance companies out of thousands of dollars in one of the Lowell's largest auto-insurance fraud rings in the city's history, must pay restitution and perform community service. In Middlesex Superior Court, Sokha Ngoun, 30, of Revere, pleaded guilty to his part in an insurance-fraud scheme. Judge Wendie Gershengorn sentenced Ngoun to a suspended two-year jail sentence with $1,300 i...

Insurance Profiling Faces Ban

By Kevin Begos, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Apr. 3--TALLAHASSEE -- Florida regulators are preparing draft legislation to ban the use of education and occupation in setting auto insurance rates they say leads to higher rates for minorities. The move comes after a report found that the practice "unintentionally harms minorities and low-income individuals." For example, some white-collar professionals get better rates, even though some blue-collar laborers tend to have fewer accidents. "Just becau...

Allstate Outlines CEO Pay Package: $24 Million in 2006 for Ex-CEO Liddy

By Becky Yerak, Chicago Tribune Apr. 3--In his last year as Allstate Corp. chief executive, Edward Liddy received a $24 million pay package in 2006, the Northbrook-based insurer disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday. Liddy, who remains chairman, turned over the CEO job last January to President Thomas Wilson, 49, who received a $7.8 million pay package from the home-and-auto insurer. Liddy's compensation included a $1.2 million salary, nearly $5 million in stock awards, including rest...

Businesses May See Savings on Auto Coverage This Year

By Lofton, Lynn There are some bargains for businesses this year. It's a good time for businesses to purchase vehicle insurance whether it's for company-owned autos and trucks or liability coverage for employees using their own automobiles. "Today, business automobile insurance is very competitive," says Ronnie Tubertini, president and CEO of SouthGroup Insurance and Financial Services, Mississippi's largest privately-owned insurance agency with 180 employees in 17 locations across the st...

DOWNLOAD ; 1m Hits on TV Ads Website

By STEPHEN HAYWARD Consumer Correspondent FOR those of you who find commercial breaks an irritation it may be hard to be believe, but a new craze is sweeping Britain - watching TV ads on the internet. A website called tellyAds.com has had over a million hits since it was launched a few months ago, and a monthly chart listing the UK's top 20 commercials (below) is being launched this week. Spokeswoman Caroline Ashcroft said: "While many TV viewers regard commercials as an annoying interr...

EDITORIAL: 'Dirty' Auto Rates? No Thanks

By The Boston Globe Mar. 30--Strident calls to scrap Massachusetts' auto insurance system are giving way to a more thoughtful discussion about how to stimulate competition without driving premiums through the roof for young and urban drivers. A recent report by a study group convened in January by Governor Patrick manages to point the way toward reform while maintaining basic protections for the drivers of the state's estimated 4 million private cars. The seven-member study group, chaired...

Lawmakers Give Old Auto Law New Spin

By Jennifer Liberto, St. Petersburg Times, Fla. Mar. 28--TALLAHASSEE -- A Senate insurance committee on Tuesday took the Legislature's first major stab at rewriting the state's mandatory automobile insurance laws. In so doing, the members unanimously passed a bill that manages to irritate just about everybody: doctors, hospitals, lawyers and most auto insurance companies. The state's "no-fault law," also known as personal injury protection, is scheduled to vanish on Oct. 1. That law req...

Senate Votes to Extend State's No-Fault Law

By Jennifer Sorentrue, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Mar. 28--Florida's no-fault auto insurance system, set to expire in six months, would remain in place under a plan a state Senate committee approved Tuesday. The Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance voted unanimously to extend Florida's no-fault law, which provides a minimum of $10,000 worth of medical coverage, known as personal injury protection, or PIP, to those injured in auto accidents. The law, which will expire Oct. 1 unless l...