Latest Insurance News

Teen Drivers Have Virtual Parent in Car

When 17-year-old Anna Kinderman takes a turn too fast in her parents' sedan or jams the brakes too hard, she apologizes aloud even when no one else is in the car. "Sorry, Dad," she says, looking up at the camera mounted on the rear-view mirror. Mom and Dad will see the incident on video soon enough, after all. Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarmin...

Editorial ; Driven to Distraction

Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has waved the white flag on one of the proposed changes to the state's auto insurance regulations. Those grumpy lawmakers who wrap the status quo in a loving embrace ought to count that as a victory, and stop their saber-rattling. Burnes on Friday announced that insurance companies, soon to be freed from the commonwealth's one-rate-fits-all system, will not be allowed to consider a driver's credit history in any way when setting rates or deciding whom to...

Jury Rules for Allstate in Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Claims-Handling

LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Allstate Insurance Co., under siege by trial lawyers who say it drags out insurance claims, won a major legal victory Wednesday after a Kentucky jury unanimously found it was not responsible for a two-year delay in settling a woman's claim. Trial lawyer J. Dale Golden had alleged that Geneva Hager, 60, of Richmond, Ky., was the victim of a systematic scheme by Allstate to bully car accident victims into accepting lowball offers for their pain and suffering. He had sought $1...

EDITORIAL: Drive Down Prices

By The Lima News, Ohio Oct. 11--Even better news followed Ohio's automobile insurance rates again coming in lower: Somebody in a Democratic administration showed she understands that competition drives down prices. Ohio auto insurance rates declined for a second consecutive year, according to a report the National Association of Insurance Commissioners released Tuesday. Ohioans in 2006 paid an average of $669 for auto insurance, the 13th-lowest rate in the nation. The national average was...

No-Fault: How It Works Florida's Law Requiring the Coverage Expired, to Be Renewed in January.

By J. TAYLOR RUSHING Florida lawmakers needed just three days and one lopsided vote last week to extend and revise the state's no-fault auto insurance law. Although details were hashed out between top House and Senate negotiators, there was intense lobbying over whether personal injury protection should expire - and once it did, whether it should stay expired. Insurance companies and most Republicans wanted it gone, claiming that the system was riddled with fraud. Hospitals and most Democ...

EDITORIAL: Drinking Our Way to the Bank

By Grand Forks Herald, N.D. Oct. 9--Our view: North Dakotans drink more than average, yet pay much less than average for car insurance. Why? Here's a paradox for you. Be our guest at trying to figure it out. -- Item: For the second year in a row, North Dakota has the lowest average car insurance premiums in the country, The Associated Press reported. The average statewide premium here was $554, less than half of the $1,184 average premium that New Jersey residents paid. -- Item: "No...

Your MONEY: Strewth, We're Top Sheilas

By CLINTON MANNING THE ladies at Sheilas' Wheels can make a song and dance about the 250,000 customers they've gained. Britain's fastest-growing car insurer - launched in October 2005 - is signing up 11,000 new customers a month by offering cheaper deals for women. Some 97 per cent of all dangerous driving convictions involve men behind the wheel. But the firm - best-known for its ad with sequin-clad ladies singing in a pink Cadillac - has met the odd fork in the road. It released t...

Wheel Scots

THE new hybrid-powered flagship of the Lexus luxury brand, the pounds 81,400 LS 600h, is now on sale in Britain. Despite the hefty price, demand is high, so if you order one now don't expect to see it before next spring. The LS 600h features the world'sfirst full- time, all-wheel drive full hybrid V8 powertrain, using a 5.0-litre petrol engine together with a powerful, high-output electric motor. Performance figures are zero to 62mph in 6.3 seconds, top speed 155mph and a thirst of 30.4mpg in...

Massachusetts Insurance Regulations Tweaked for Managed Competition

By Sarah Shemkus, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. Oct. 6--Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes yesterday released the final version of the regulations that will govern the transition of the auto insurance system to managed competition. "I hope and expect that this will provide better rates for good drivers, wherever they are," Burnes said. "They'll get better service and better products -- the kind of products that people in the 49 other states are offered." Under the current system, the...

How the New No-Fault Law Will Affect You

By Kathy Bushouse, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Oct. 6--The debate is done on what to do with the state's expired no-fault automobile insurance law. On Friday, the Florida Legislature agreed on a new version of no-fault, similar to the old law that expired Monday. The new law still requires motorists carry $10,000 of personal-injury protection coverage and takes effect Jan. 1, 2008. Until then, the state will operate as if there's not a no-fault law on the books. That means you could face...