Figures

75%

The percent of price-shoppers who switch car insurance carriers because they have experienced poor customer service, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Insurance Shopping Study.

50%

The percentage of auto insurance shoppers who also shop for other types of insurance coverage. Nearly 40 percent of shoppers look for auto and homeowners insurance bundles, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Insurance Shopping Study.

60

The years in prison ordered for a man who admitted setting a fire that devastated downtown Elizabeth, W.Va. Investigators say Willie Trembly, 20, and a co-defendant, set the fire last June 14 to cover up a break-in at a nearby hardware store. The wooden building was destroyed, along with two other buildings. Two houses, a bank and a church were extensively damaged. Two firefighters were injured.

2,129

The number of motorists cited by North Carolina state and local law enforcement officers for driving while impaired during the “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” campaign that ran June 28-July 8, according to Gov. Mike Easley. A total of 71,048 traffic and criminal citations were issued statewide.

570

The number of data breaches reported in the news media between January 2005 and December 2006, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

$100 million

The amount mattress manufacturers nationwide are expected to spend complying with new federal flammability standards aimed at reducing the number of mattress fires started by open flames such as candles and lighters. The Consumer Product Safety Commission calls it the most expensive regulation handed down to any industry in its history, and one it hopes will prevent as many as 270 deaths a year.

$31,000

The amount allegedly embezzled from workers’ compensation, homeowners and other policyholders by William “Billy” Michael Whitley, owner of Whitley Insurance Agency in Rocky Mount, N.C., according to North Carolina Department of Insurance officials, who said Whitley was arrested and placed under a $10,000 unsecured bond.