Latest Auto Headlines

All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Higher Auto Claims, More Frequent Accidents Continue to Outpace Premium Hikes

Jan 22 2024 // As claim severity rises, U.S. personal auto results are on the decline, according to AM Best’s Market Segment Report, issued in December 2023.The 112.2 net combined ratio in 2022 for personal auto was an almost...

Texas Car Dealership Faces Lawsuit for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Jan 19 2024 // South Austin Nissan, a car dealership in Austin, Texas, operated by NICPA Central Auto Group, LLC, subjected female employees to sexual harassment and retaliated against employees when they reported the harassment the U.S....

19 Dead, Hundreds of Auto Accidents from Ice Storm in Tennessee, Mississippi

Jan 19 2024 // Tennessee health officials have confirmed at least 14 weather-related deaths from the icy storm that has gripped much of the country. Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest public school system with about...

10 Largest Auto Insurers Each Raised Rates by Double Digits in 2023

Jan 18 2024 // According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s RateWatch, Farmers Insurance instituted double-digit rate increases in 43 states in 2023 for a weighted average rate increase of 17.6%—and its private-auto...

Nebraska Jury Awards $335K to Deaf Truck Driver in Disability Discrimination Case

Jan 16 2024 // Trucking companies Werner Enterprises, Inc. and Drivers Management, LLC must pay $335,682 to a deaf truck driver months after an Omaha, Nebraska jury found in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Dallas Auto Dealer That Gave Employee Racist ‘Trophy’ Fined $22K

Jan 12 2024 // AOD Ventures, Inc. doing business as Autos of Dallas, a local retailer of pre-owned vehicles in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, will pay $22,500 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the...

Auto Insurance Costs Soar by 20% in the US

Jan 12 2024 // There’s no relief in sight for US car owners who’ve faced soaring costs of maintaining a vehicle in the past two years.Prices of motor-vehicle insurance rose 20.3% in December from a year earlier, the biggest...

Worker Tells of Fleeing Burning Jeep on Cargo Ship Where 2 Firefighters Died

Jan 12 2024 // Gaven Puchinsky had been pushing vehicles onto a huge cargo ship in one of the nation’s busiest seaports when he heard a loud “clunking” noise that he believed came from the yellow Jeep Wrangler he was...

Stray Dogs Cause Over $350,000 in Damages at Houston Car Dealership

Jan 11 2024 // HOUSTON (AP) — A pair of strays have landed in the doghouse after being caught on video causing more than a quarter-million dollars’ worth of damage at a Houston car dealership.One dog, described as a bull terrier...

Progressive Files for 19.78% Auto Insurance Rate Increase in West Virginia

Jan 10 2024 // Less than a month after Farmers Direct Insurance filed for a hefty rate increase on West Virginia auto liability policies, Progressive has followed suit with an almost identical request.The West Virginia insurance...

Michigan Appeals Court: Parents Can Elect Lower Auto Insurance Limits for Minor Drivers

Jan 10 2024 // The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled last week that state law permits the parent of a minor to elect lower than default liability limits for their child’s auto insurance coverage.A three-judge panel unanimously...

Michigan Sees Decrease in Uninsured Motorists Following Auto Insurance Reform

Jan 8 2024 // Michigan reported the largest decrease in uninsured motorists of any state between 2020 and 2022, according to a recent study by the Insurance Research Council.Michigan’s uninsured motorist rate dropped by more than...

Driverless Truck Companies Plan to Ditch Human Copilots in 2024

Jan 5 2024 // Driverless trucks with no humans on board will soon cruise Texas highways if three startup firms have their way, despite objections from critics who say financial pressures, not safety, is behind the timetable.After years...

Vehicle Fleeing Suburban Madison, Wisconsin Police Stop Crashes, Killing All 3 People Inside

Jan 4 2024 // MONONA, Wis. (AP) – A vehicle fleeing a suburban Madison police traffic stop crashed overnight, killing all three people who were riding inside, authorities said.Monona police tried to stop “a suspicious...

New York Fund for Injured Black Car Drivers Wins Surcharge Fight

Jan 3 2024 // The New York workers’ compensation fund for black car drivers was within its authority to impose a 2.5% surcharge on noncash tips that passengers paid to drivers, a three-justice panel of the Second Circuit Court of...

Truck Engine Maker Cummins to Pay Record $1.675 Billion US Environmental Fine

Dec 28 2023 // Truck engine maker Cummins Inc. has agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion fine for installing devices on hundreds of thousands of engines to allow them to emit excess pollution, the largest-ever civil penalty for a...

Truck Hits Railroad Bridge and Explodes as Train Passes Overhead

Dec 27 2023 // A tractor-trailer loaded with what authorities believe were gas containers slammed into the bottom of an overhead railroad bridge in upstate New York and exploded last Thursday night as a freight train was traveling on the...

California Commissioner Warns Insurers About Auto Insurance Consumer Complaints

Dec 22 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued an official notice to insurers regarding consumers who have been reporting issues obtaining auto insurance coverage.The California Department of Insurance continues to...

Toyota’s Daihatsu Unit to Halt All Vehicle Shipments, in Widening Safety Scandal

Dec 20 2023 // Toyota Motor’s Daihatsu unit will halt shipments of all of its vehicles, Japan’s biggest automaker said on Wednesday, after a safety scandal investigation found issues involving 64 models, including almost two...

Farmers Direct Asks for 20% Auto Rate Increase in West Virginia

Dec 15 2023 // The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner’s Office is accepting comments on a proposed 19.9% auto liability insurance rate increase for Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The proposed increase is one...