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Tees Valley Edition

Car bombs kill 63 in Baghdad TWO car bombs exploded in an outdoor market in Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 63 people and injuring scores in the deadliest attack since US and Iraqi forces began a major security push around the capital last week.The twin blasts - which tore through the open-air market in the mostly Shi'ite district of New Baghdad - marked the first major response by militants to the sweep launched last week. Police and ambulance service officials reported at least 129 peop...

New Insurance Comparison Site Set for Major Marketing Push

UK internet insurance comparison business Gocompare.com has unveiled plans to launch a major GBP1.5million consumer marketing campaign in March.Gocompare.com, an independent start-up company based Newport, Wales, only went live in November 2006 but claims to already be making significant inroads into the rapidly expanding insurance comparison market. The company, which was set up by one of the key figures behind comparison site Confused.com, believes that it is breaking new ground in this nic...

State Farm Promises Rate Cuts If Law Expires

Feb. 20--State Farm said Monday it will cut auto insurance rates by a statewide average of about 16 percent, once Florida's No-Fault law ends. Northeast Florida customers would see savings of about 12 percent to 17 percent on their auto policies, company spokesman Michael Grimes said. The Florida No-Fault law is set to end by October if no action is taken by legislators to reinstate or extend the law.....We are unable to display this entire news item because this article's licensing expires a...

Advocates Want Installments for Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund Premiums

By Andy Rosen For the third straight year, advocates are trying to get the General Assembly to allow the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund to accept premiums by installment. A bill in the House of Delegates would enable the state's auto insurer of last resort to break up customers' payments starting this year. Similar measures have failed during each of the last two legislative sessions. MAIF, an independent state agency, is only allowed to take lump- sum payments on its premiums for a...

Compulsory

The British Government is to give police the power to clamp or impound uninsured cars. Insurance is compulsory in the UK and is touted as one reason why the country's road toll is as low as it is. The measures are intended to crack down on the estimated 1.5m uninsured drivers on UK roads, and will be in force by April. Research has found that uninsured drivers are 10 times more likely to have been convicted of drink- driving, are six times more likely to be driving an unroadworthy car and t...

Coping With a Crash

Prevent additional trauma by knowing what to do if you're in an accidentTeens, especially 16-year-olds, have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age (one reason why our insurance rates are so high). com, about one of every five 16-year-old males and one of 10 females of the same age will be involved in a car crash.....We are unable to display this entire news item because this article's licensing expires after a certain amount of time. This article was originally published by The San...

Allstate Revises Way It Sets Premiums

Feb. 16--Allstate Insurance Company is changing the way it uses a person's credit to set premiums on home and auto insurance policies after a group of black and Hispanic customers argued that the practices led to higher rates for minorities. The settlement of the class-action lawsuit was finalized this week. In addition, Biery wrote, "undisputed evidence shows Allstate has no knowledge of the race or ethnicity of its customers and does not track such data."....We are unable to display this en...

Solera Files for IPO

By Barbara Grady Solera Holdings LLC, a San Ramon-based supplier of software for auto insurance claims processing, filed papers this week with the U.S. Securitiesand Exchange Commission to go public and sell about $460 million worth of shares. Solera and its investment banks have not yet priced the shares or cited a date for the initial public offering. The stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SLH." Solera plans to use proceeds of the offering to reduce it...

One in Eight British Motorists Have Driven Uninsured, Research Shows

One in eight, or 13%, of British motorists have confessed to driving a car without insurance, with men twice as likely to violate the insurance regulation, according to research conducted by price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com.The survey found that two thirds, or 69%, of these drivers broke the law while driving someone else's car. Furthermore, the research revealed that younger drivers were the worst offenders, with 29% of motorists under 30 admitting that they had driven without c...

2-Minute T-D

IN THE NEWS YES, THEY'VE GOT MILK Panda cubs drink milk at the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, China. A baby boom has pushed up the number of pandas bred in captivity in China to 217, state media said. Some 34 pandas were born by artificial insemination in 2006. (Photo cutline) NATION OBAMA ANNOUNCES Illinois Sen. Barack Obama formally announced his presidential candidacy in Springfield, Ill. The freshman Democrat called for an end to the war in Iraq and what he called "the smal...