Latest Auto Headlines

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

Insurance Journal’s Top 10 Southeast Region Stories of 2019

Jan 2 2020 // It was a relatively quiet year for the Southeast in terms of major catastrophes compared with 2018 when Hurricane’s Michael and Florence caused major damage in the region. This year, Hurricane Dorian sideswiped the...

Texas Insurance Regulators: New Year’s Day Is No. 1 Holiday for Vehicle Thefts

Dec 30 2019 // The Texas Department of Insurance is urging vehicle owners to lock their car doors and turn on alarms while they ring in the new year in order to prevent auto thefts.TDI said in a media release that a report issued in...

Court Upholds Insurers’ Auto Body Repair Networks Against Racketeering Claim

Dec 30 2019 // A federal appellate court affirmed a decision to throw out a racketeering lawsuit brought by a group of 126 auto body collision repair shops against seven of the largest U.S. insurers.The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in...

New Limits on Lawsuits a Goal for Louisiana Republicans

Dec 27 2019 // After an election season in which conservative Republicans made Louisiana’s high car insurance rates a campaign issue, GOP lawmakers expect efforts to try to limit damages awarded in car wreck lawsuits to be front...

Plymouth Rock Assurance Expands Home, Auto Coverage to New York

Dec 24 2019 // Plymouth Rock Assurance, a data-driven home and auto insurance provider in the Northeast, has expanded its home and auto insurance coverage to residents and agents in New York. This marks the first time the 37-year old...

California Proposes Major Change on Auto Insurance Group Discounts

Dec 23 2019 // The California Department of Insurance on Monday released proposed regulations to reform how insurance companies offer group discounts based on occupation, education, and other arbitrary factors.If adopted, this would be...

$25M for Girl Who Suffered Brain Damage in California Crash

Dec 23 2019 // Sacramento County will pay more than $25 million to the family of a 12-year-old girl who was left with brain damage after her family car was struck by a sheriff’s patrol car vehicle.The settlement last week is the...

How Car Makers Are Doing with Voluntary Accord to Install Automatic Braking Systems

Dec 20 2019 // Three years ahead of schedule, four vehicle manufacturers— Tesla, Volvo, Audi and Mercedes— have already met their voluntary commitment under an agreement to equip virtually all of their new passenger vehicles with...

Personal Auto Insurance Underwriting Performance Has Likely Peaked: Fitch

Dec 17 2019 // Performance in the U.S. personal auto insurance market continues to run favorably in 2019, on par with underwriting profits achieved in 2018, according to Fitch Ratings. However segment results for the industry are likely...

Zurich Partners with Insurtech Vindati on Motor Truck Cargo Program

Dec 17 2019 // Zurich and insurtech managing general underwriter Vindati have launched a new stand-alone Motor Truck Cargo (MTC) program now available to for hire common and contract truckers. Written through an exclusive agreement...

Florida Auto Insurer Windhaven Placed Into Rehabilitation

Dec 17 2019 // The future of another Florida domestic insurer is now in the hands of state regulators.Non-standard private passenger auto insurer Windhaven Insurance Co. (WIC), based in Miami, has been placed into rehabilitation by a...

Federal Safety Agency Starts 12th Probe Into Tesla Crashes

Dec 16 2019 // The U.S. auto safety agency said on Friday it will investigate a 12th Tesla crash that may be tied to the vehicle’s advanced Autopilot driver assistance system after a Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a parked police car in...

Sugar Crash: Truck Hauling 35K Pounds of M&Ms Overturns in Tennessee

Dec 16 2019 // A truck hauling about 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms) of M&M candies overturned on a Tennessee highway Friday morning, a Department of Transportation official confirmed. The semitrailer crashed on Interstate 40 near...

Michigan Car Insurance Fee to Drop by 55% Next July

Dec 16 2019 // Michigan drivers who want unlimited medical coverage for crash injuries will pay $100 per vehicle starting in July, which will be 55% less than the record high $220 annual fee they currently pay.The Michigan Catastrophic...

Fitch Sees Stronger Commercial Lines But Weaker Auto, Workers’ Compensation Results Coming

Dec 16 2019 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance sector should see small improvements in underwriting profits in 2019 and 2020, thanks largely to commercial lines price increases, Fitch Ratings predicts in a new report.But personal...

Insurer Market Conduct Troubles Often Traced to Claims Handling Errors

Dec 16 2019 // Mistakes by claims professionals were the most common reason for enforcement actions against U.S. property and casualty insurers in 2018, taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spot on a top 10 list issued by the Wolters Kluwer...

Driver Privacy Concerns in Auto Insurance. There’s an App for That.

Dec 13 2019 // Apps that let you book a ride to work or borrow a car for your next vacation are feeding into a revolution in auto insurance — while also raising some privacy red flags.Data on everything from how frequently a car is...

FCC Votes to Split Safety Spectrum with Telecoms Over Transportation Chief’s Warning

Dec 13 2019 // The U.S. telecommunications regulator voted on Thursday to advance a plan to split a key spectrum block set aside for auto safety to accommodate the burgeoning number of wireless devices, but the Transportation Secretary...

Tesla Crash in Connecticut Elicits New Warnings About Autopilot Shortcomings

Dec 10 2019 // Another Tesla Inc. vehicle operating on the carmaker’s driver-assistance system branded as Autopilot has crashed into a parked emergency vehicle, eliciting fresh warnings about the shortcomings of automated...

California Department of Insurance Arrests Suspects in $500K Auto Fraud Ring

Dec 9 2019 // Investigators from the California Department of Insurance, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol have arrested four suspects for alleged involvement in an organized auto fraud...