Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

New year brings lowered rates for Mass. drivers

Jan 2 2006 // 8.7% rate cut is a lot more than the 0.1 percent cut recommended by insurers Private passenger auto insurance rates will be cut an average 8.7 percent in Massachusetts in 2006 under a ruling by insurance commissioner...

Drivers living near restaurants pose higher risks than church neighbors

Jan 2 2006 // Why people who live close to restaurant are more likely to pay more for auto insurance. Drivers who live within a mile of a church are far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a...

Drivers living near restaurants pose higher risks than church neighbors

Jan 1 2006 // Why people who live close to restaurant are more likely to pay more for auto insurance. Drivers who live within a mile of a church are far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a...

New year brings lowered rates for Mass. drivers

Jan 1 2006 // Private passenger auto insurance rates will be cut an average 8.7 percent in Massachusetts in 2006 under a ruling by insurance commissioner Julianne M. Bowler. The new rates translate to an average decrease of $95.14 per...

Mass. gets new safe driver plan, too

Jan 1 2006 // The new year also brings a new Safe Driver Insurance Plan for Massachusetts drivers in addition to lower rates. The revised plan will provide discounts for the state’s best drivers and offer incentives for bad...

Mercury Insurance Helps Police Teach Teens about Drinking and Driving

Dec 28 2005 // Mercury Insurance Group and the San Diego Police Department have produced “Every 15 Minutes,” a two-day program to teach high schoolers the dangers of drinking and driving. The goal of both Mercury Insurance...

Mass. Bus Driver Pulled Over for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud

Dec 28 2005 // An public transit MBTA bus driver has been indicted on charges that he fraudulently collected workers’ compensation benefits and submitted falsified documents to support his claims, Attorney General Tom Reilly...

W.Va. Bus Driver Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud

Dec 22 2005 // Terry Lee Villers of Wirt County, W.Va. has been sentenced to two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud according to Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline. Villers was sentenced Dec. 16 in the Circuit Court of...

Conn. Report Says Technicalities Let Drunken Drivers Escape

Dec 21 2005 // More than 5,000 drunken driving cases over the last four years escaped enforcement action by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles mostly because of technicalities, a new report shows. Those technicalities included...

California Insurers Charge Drivers in Black, Latino Neighborhoods More, Report Indicates

Dec 20 2005 // Insurers charge good drivers living in California’s predominantly African-American and Latino zip codes substantially more for automobile insurance than good drivers in predominantly white communities, claims an...

Truck Driver Killed in Utah Train-Trash Truck Collision

Dec 16 2005 // An Amtrak train collided with a semitrailer in southeastern Utah, killing the truck driver, injuring several Amtrak passengers and derailing the front wheel on the train’s lead engine, authorities said. The...

Mass. Drivers Get Early Christmas Gift: An 8.7% Rate Cut

Dec 15 2005 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler announced that 2006 private passenger auto insurance rates will be cut an average 8.7% staewide next year. The new rate takes effect January 1 and translates to an...

Drivers Living Near Restaurants Pose Higher Risk Than Church Neighbors

Dec 6 2005 // Drivers who live within a mile of a church are far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a church. But those who live within one mile of a restaurant face a significantly greater...

Agents Learn About Potential Policy Glitches, Coverage Fixes

Dec 5 2005 // Are you and your customers aware of potential policy “glitches” in their coverages? And what are you doing to help remedy the situation? Glitches in policies agents select for insureds and possible coverage...

15 States Cited by Safety Groups as Deadliest for Drunken Driving

Nov 30 2005 // The physician-led traffic safety advocacy group called End Needless Death on Our Roadways (END), and the National Safety Council, released their annual list of the 15 deadliest states in the country for impaired driving...

U.K. Male Drivers Distracted by Provocative Posters

Nov 22 2005 // Whether by intelligent design or natural selection, men – at least most men – are programmed to look at women. This assures increased species propagation and the ultimate survival of the human race. Quite...

Bus Driver Guilty of Workers’ Comp Fraud

Nov 21 2005 // A Metropolitan Transportation Authori-ty (MTA) bus driver has pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation insurance fraud after an investigation by the California Depart-ment of Insurance (CDI) Fraud Division. Renee...

U.K. Cameras Spot Uninsured Drivers

Nov 10 2005 // The Association of British Insurers (ABI) notes that U.K. police have started using automatic number plate recognition cameras to spot cars being driven without insurance. The ABI calls the initiative a “new...

Study Blames Bad Regulatory System, Not Bad Drivers, for Mass. Auto Woes

Nov 9 2005 // A new study suggests that the high cost of auto insurance in Massachusetts should be blamed on bad government, not bad drivers. The state’s rate setting system encourages drivers to file too many minor accident...

W.Va. Big ‘I’ Members Learn About Policy ‘Glitches,’ Coverage ‘Fixes’

Nov 7 2005 // Glitches” in policies agents select for insureds and possible coverage “fixes” to close these gaps or lapses in coverage were discussed by Fred Macy, president of Gray Wolf Insurance Seminars, during the...