Car Insurer Prepares for 30pc Rise
Posted 9:32 AM Apr-21-2008
An insurer is to increase by 30 per cent car insurance premiums for people caught using a mobile phone while driving.Allianz Insurance said in the past drivers convicted for using a mobile phone while driving faced premium increases in line with those for a routine speeding conviction but it has now decided to treat mobile phone use in the same way as a conviction for dangerous driving.Neil Walker, Allianz Insurance motor manager, said: "Increasing premiums for drivers with mobile phone convictions reinforces the fact that this is a dangerous and needless act....

 Your Money: These Pages Make Quick Work of Insurance Quotes ; Cash Point
Posted 9:32 AM Apr-21-2008
MORE people than ever are using the internet to buy cheaper insurance but it's not always that straightforward. Buying something as complicated as insurance online can become very time-consuming and ringing providers may be more attractive. A new directory, Quick-Pages, puts together insurers' free phone numbers, giving you the opportunity to compare quotes from up to 16 providers....

 Soaring Costs Are Taking Drivers Off the Road ; PERSONAL FINANCE
Posted 9:32 AM Apr-21-2008
Soaring insurance premiums, petrol prices and car maintenance costs are pushing drivers off the roads and onto public transport, according to MoneyExpert.com. The independent financial comparison website says a quarter of all motorists (25 per cent) claim to use their car less because of the increasing cost of running a vehicle. The majority of respondents in the MoneyExpert.com poll cited rising petrol prices as the main reason for ditching the car (76 per cent), with high car insurance premiums (eight per cent) and maintenance costs (eight per cent) also hitting motorists hard....

 Commissioner's Clout May Grow: Panel OKs Giving Official Power to Cut Private Health Insurers' Rate Increases
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-19-2008
Apr. 18--DENVER -- Colorado's insurance commissioner would have broad power to reduce annual rate increases proposed by private health insurers -- but not auto insurers -- under a bill that passed in committee Thursday. A separate committee approved a bill to require drivers to buy medical policies as part of their plans. Health insurance costs have risen at six times the rate of inflation since 2001, and Colorado has the seventh-highest premiums despite being the country's healthiest state....

 BRITAIN TODAY: Car Cheats ; INSURANCE
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-19-2008
NEARLY half of Britons consider lying on an insurance application form to be no more serious than stealing a chocolate bar, a survey showed. (c) 2008 The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. All rights Reserved...

 The Secret Priorities of Boaters
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-18-2008
Are you worried about the value of your home or the cost of your daily commute? In a recent survey of more than 1,000 boat owners conducted by Progressive, a leading boat insurer and the number one seller of personal watercraft insurance in the country, nearly half of boaters surveyed said they bought their boat before they purchased a car or a home.One in four boaters surveyed even said their biggest worry was simply finding time to use their boat....

 Tonight's TV: WATCH IT ; It Pays To Watch (Five, 7.30pm)
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-18-2008
WITH fuel prices higher than ever, and the cost of running a car going through the (garage) roof, financial guru Martin Lewis (right) takes a timely look at the nation's motoring expenses. Martin presents an indispensable guide to tracking down the cheapest petrol; finding car insurance for under pounds 100; getting roadside recovery at a cut price, and securing a low-cost MOT. (c) 2008 Liverpool Echo....

 Catherine Saves GBP 400 at a Switch
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-17-2008
CATHERINE White, a 25-year-old mother of two from Edinburgh, switched from Scottish Power to EDF Energy to save money. She says: "I decided to switch as I was with Scottish Power and I was having a lot of problems with them for about six months. Catherine used energyhelpline.com to find a cheaper supplier....

 IAG Rejects QBE Takeover Bid HOT STOCKS
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-17-2008
Insurance Australia Group, the top home and car insurer in the country, rejected as too low a 7.3 billion Australian dollar bid from its bigger rival, QBE Insurance Group, sending IAG shares up more than 14 percent on expectations of a higher offer.QBE, which has acquired 110 companies in the past 25 years, had been cited as a potential buyer of IAG after IAG's shares slid last year following profit declines and as its British expansion failed to meet market expectations.Originally published by Reuters....

 Layoffs Planned at Travelers: Insurance Company to Cut 325 Jobs, Including Some in Warren County
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-17-2008
Apr. 16--GLENS FALLS -- The Travelers Cos. Travelers, a St. Paul, Minn.-based insurer of homes, cars and businesses, is cutting 325 jobs across four offices and states: Queensbury/Glens Falls; Marlton, N.J.; Fall River, Mass.; and Houston, said spokeswoman Sheila Trauernicht. Details about specific cuts in the Queensbury/Glens Falls office were not available Tuesday....

 Nonprofit AIPSO Laying Off 8 Employees
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-17-2008
AIPSO's main line of business is to assign risk-pool motorists to an insurance company that will underwrite the policy.A Johnston company that manages the automobile insurance assigned- risk pool for more than three dozen states has laid off eight workers as the number of drivers signing up for assigned-risk insurance has dropped sharply. The greater use of computers also contributed to the layoffs, but to a lesser degree, according to John S. Verruso, a spokesman for the company, AIPSO....

 Bizworld:
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-16-2008
Wal-Mart will toughen gun sales Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest seller of firearms, and a bipartisan coalition of mayors opposed to illegal gun sales entered into an agreement Monday that includes inventory controls, video-recording of purchases and a computerized database to trace weapons used in crimes, the coalition said. Wal-Mart and Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced the agreement during a meeting of representatives from 60 of the more than 300 member cities in the coalition....

 Zurich Financial to Cut 400 U.S. Jobs
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-16-2008
Apr. 12--Zurich Financial Services Group's Schaumburg-based North American commercial property-casualty division said Friday that it will eliminate about 400 U.S. jobs in a move designed to cut costs. Most of the job cuts are in the Chicago area, according to a source familiar with the matter. Zurich's North American commercial group has about 10,500 workers in more than 100 sites across the U.S. and Canada....

 Allstate Gathers Data for Hearing Next Week to Challenge California Rate-Reduction Order
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-16-2008
Apr. 16--Allstate has been given until an April 24 hearing to prepare arguments in its appeal of a state order to cut its auto insurance rates an average of 15.9 percent. The insurer's attorneys will argue for a stay in San Francisco Superior Court so that Allstate's current rates remain in effect while the insurer's appeal filed last week is considered. The rate reduction was to be implemented Monday by an order issued last month by the state's Department of Insurance....

 Infinity Property and Casualty to Announce First Quarter 2008 Results
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-15-2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation expects to release its first quarter 2008 results on Thursday, April 24, 2008 before the market opens. The earnings release will be available shortly thereafter on Infinity's website at http://www.ipacc.com/.In connection with its earnings release, Infinity will hold a conference call to discuss the first quarter results on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:00 am ET....

 Auto Insurance Practice Development Seminar
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-14-2008
According to Oman News: Yahya bin Said al Jabiri, Executive President of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) affirmed that the standard auto insurance will come into effect in July 2008. On his part Dr. Saleh Abdul Rahman Mustafa, member of OCCI insurance committee pointed out that the number of auto insurance policies issued by the insurance companies in 2006 amounted to 568,000 out of 648,000 total policies which means that auto insurance constitutes 87% of the business of insurance companies. The seminar was attended by Khalil bin Abdullah al Khunji, OCCI Chairman, a number of CMA and OCCI officials and insurance company representatives....

 Suzuki Will Dodge Congestion Charge ; on the Road
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-13-2008
SUZUKI is the latest manufacturer of small cars to have CO2 emissions below the all-important 120g/km mark. Owners of cars with a CO2 figure lower than that pay just pounds 35 a year road tax and will be exempt from congestion charges that are expected to be forced on to motorists in several cities throughout the UK. Suzuki's environmentally-friendly newcomer is the Swift 1.3 DDiS....

 AG Sees More Uninsured ; Says Ruling Allows Cos. To Reject Auto Owners
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-13-2008
Attorney General Martha Coakley warned yesterday that a ruling by Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes will mean more uninsured drivers on state roadways.Coakley, consumer activists and even some insurance-industry officials were taken aback by recent comments by Burnes and her staff that insurers under the new "managed competition" system can reject potential customers if they want.A spokeswoman, Kimberly Haberlin, confirmed yesterday that's what Burnes said - and meant....

 Open to Thieves
Posted 8:01 AM Apr-12-2008
MOTORISTS are putting themselves at risk of identity theft by leaving sensitive personal documents inside their vehicles. The worst offenders are those who compound the felony by leaving their documents on open display to passers-by. According to research by Direct Line Car Insurance, a 10th of parked vehicles surveyed had personal bills, bank statements and other sensitive personal papers on show....

 Weekly Review of Business News
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-11-2008
Galvin: Bush financial services overhaul plan a power grabThe Bush administration did little to reassure state regulators that it is not trying to centralize power over business interests in Washington with its latest plan to overhaul how financial services are regulated. Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin lashed out at Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan, calling it a power grab aimed at taking consumer protections away from state regulators....

 Allstate Releases Claims Records After Long Fight in Jackson County Court
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-11-2008
It's unclear how the disclosure will affect local contempt orderThe insurer posted the McKinsey documents on its Web site on Friday. Those records, which are slides created with the guidance of the business consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in the 1990s, allegedly show how Allstate handles the claims made by its policyholders....

 BRIEF: Rally Protests Steering To Insurers' Preferred Body Shops
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-11-2008
Apr. 10--More than 40 tow trucks and other vehicles were driven around the state Capitol Wednesday around lunchtime with horns blaring in support of legislation against steering of customers to auto insurers' preferred body shops. The event, sponsored by the Auto Body Association of Connecticut, began with a rally at the Connecticut Expo Center and featured comments by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The association is supporting a bill in the General Assembly, like one submitted in 2007, that would prohibit an auto insurer from recommending, requesting or requiring that a consumer use one of the company's "preferred" body shops after an accident....

 7 Charged in Auto Insurance Scam
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-09-2008
Two attorneys, two chiropractors and the three alleged ringleaders of an auto insurance scam were indicted by an Essex County jury.Investigators from the Attorney General's Office, the Lawrence Police Department and the Insurance Fraud Bureau say the men, who all worked in and around Lawrence in 2002 and 2003, conspired to file a variety of bogus insurance claims stemming from auto accidents that never occurred.The Essex Country jury issued several multiple-count indictments against Leo M. Lopez, 28, of Lawrence; Josue Jerez, 28, of Lawrence; and Omar Castillo, 35, of Methuen....

 Flurry of Interest Over Allstate Posted Papers: Critics Look for Keys to What They Deem Unfair Policy Pricing
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-09-2008
Apr. 8--Insurance industry watchdog Doug Heller was at a birthday party for his mother Sunday when he got an e-mail. "Documents posted on Allstate's Web site," came the message to the executive director for Consumer Watchdog, a California-based advocacy group that has championed lower insurance rates in the state. Word spread quickly in insurance quarters over the weekend after Allstate Corp. on Friday evening posted about 150,000 pages on its Web site that included the long-coveted "McKinsey documents"--reviews prepared by McKinsey & Co., the consulting firm for the Northbrook-based company, as it sought to revamp its claims-handling practices in the 1990s....

 Search-Referred Auto Insurance Quotes Increased By 36 Percent in 2007
Posted 8:00 AM Apr-08-2008
RESTON, Va., April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore, Inc. , a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results of a study into the role search plays in the online auto insurance market. The study, based on findings from the comScore Marketer service, analyzed the productivity of search-generated leads, the efficacy of different search marketing techniques, and the actions consumers take after seeing an advertisement. The results are summarized below and will be presented in greater depth during a free, public webinar on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT (details below)....