IllinoisAutoInsurance.Com Helps Find Illinois Auto Insurance Through Local Agents or Online
Friday, May 16, 2008
CHICAGO, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents now have the option of comparing Illinois auto insurance rates through local agents or online. Through a network of hundreds of agents and carriers, http://www.illinoisautoinsurance.com/ lets visitors choose whether to conduct a rate comparison from multiple agents near them or from companies conducting business online.The preferred method of purchasing auto insurance varies within consumers....

 Infinity Property and Casualty to Webcast Annual Shareholders' Meeting
Friday, May 16, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation invites you to listen to the live Internet broadcast of its 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 11:00 ET.The webcast will also be archived and available on Infinity's website for one year.Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation is a national provider of personal automobile insurance with a concentration on nonstandard auto insurance....

 GAINSCO Reports 1st Quarter 2008 Results
Friday, May 16, 2008
DALLAS, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GAINSCO, INC. today announced net income for the first quarter 2008 of $0.2 million, or $0.01 per common share, basic and diluted. Gross premiums written by geographic region for the quarters ended March 31, 2008 and March 31, 2007, were as follows:Three months ended(dollars in millions)March 31,20082007Regions:Southeast (Florida, South Carolina)$30.331.6South Central (Texas)$12.615.8Southwest (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico)$8.510.0West (California)$0.61.1Total$52.058.5...

 The Main Street America Group to Acquire Michigan-Domiciled Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Company
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Main Street America Group announced today it has reached an agreement to acquire Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Company, a Michigan-domiciled private passenger auto insurance carrier based in Grand Rapids, Mich., from Newco Financial Holdings Inc., an insurance holding company based in Grand Rapids.Financial terms were not disclosed."Our acquisition of Great Lakes Casualty is part of our long-term strategy of geographic diversification to increase scale and marks our entry into the Midwest to complement our 85 years of successfully serving our 'Main Street' independent agent-customers and their customers (policyholders) throughout the Eastern Seaboard," said Tom Van Berkel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Jacksonville, Fla.-based super regional P&C Carrier Main Street America....

 Workers' Comp Insurance Leader Changing CEOs ; 17-Year Vet Leaves N.J. Manufacturers
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Anthony Dickson, president and chief executive officer of West Trenton-based New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co., , has retired after 17 years at the helm.He will be replaced by Bernard Flynn, who was promoted from executive vice president and general counsel.Dickson "provided strong leadership," and "that dedication on the part of top management and our entire staff will surely continue," Flynn, 47, said in a statement....

 State Farm Practices Suffer Collision With California Class Action Lawsuit
Thursday, May 15, 2008
LOS ANGELES,May 14/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--A class action lawsuit (Case #CV08-03184), was filed today in United States Federal Court, Central District, alleging that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is enriching itself with payments rightfully belonging to its insureds in violation of California law, particularly the "Make Whole Rule."State Farm then went to the other party's insurance company to collect the money it had paid out to Chandler. Instead, the complaint alleges, State Farm kept the full amount for itself, ignoring the fact that Chandler has not been fully compensated for his loss as required by law....

 BRIEF: Court Upholds Florida's Suspension Of Allstate Business
Thursday, May 15, 2008
May 14--TAMPA -- A state court has affirmed an order that blocks Allstate insurance company from writing new automobile insurance policies in Florida. According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the 1st District Court on Wednesday "affirmed the appropriateness" of a January order by the regulatory agency that barred Allstate's request for a rehearing and allowed a suspension of its business to go forward. "As a result, the suspension now is back in effect," said Kevin McCarty, Florida's insurance commissioner....

 Consumer Fraud Alert - Catalytic Converter Theft
Thursday, May 15, 2008
GEICO's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has observed a growing trend nationwide regarding the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles and advises auto owners to take preventative measures. These areas might include auto dealerships, park-n-ride locations, industrial areas and school, business and mall parking lots.According to Steve Rutzebeck, director of GEICO's SIU, "A big part of our job at GEICO is providing safety measures to protect our consumers and prevent fraud....

 Electronic Joint Insurance Database Agreement Concluded
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
According to Oman News: joint electronic database agreement has been signed today at the Capital Market Authority (CMA) between the insurance companies operating in the Sultanate and Al-Madina Development and Supply (MDS) under the auspices of the Capital Market Authority and Royal Oman Police. He expressed hope that the project would reduce traffic accidents in the Sultanate and achieve all the expected results just like the project of minor traffic accidents. The project is a step forward in auto insurance in the Sultanate and will mitigate insurance risks, ease insurance procedures in the event of accidents, and ensure justice in insurance premiums for drivers based on their record and allow insurance companies to provide new services to clients who are observing the traffic rules....

 Experts: Don't Put Off Long-Term-Care Plan
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
May 13--Despite TV commercials that show people living longer, more-active lives and riding motorcycles or steering sailboats, there might come a time when you need help getting dressed or eating a meal. State and federal officials want people as young as 45 to be prepared -- to think about long-term-care insurance. At least 70 percent of people older than 65 will need some long-term care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services....

 Apple Valley Woman Charged With Auto Insurance Fraud
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
May 13--SAN BERNARDINO -- A woman was arrested on suspicion of insurance fraud after she allegedly left her car on railroad tracks to cover up for an earlier crash, authorities said Monday. Investigators for the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office arrested Christina Soliz, 24, of Apple Valley, after she filed an auto insurance claim with Travelers Insurance Company and reported that her car had been stolen, according to a news release from the District Attorney's office. Soliz told Travelers she found her vehicle a short time later, abandoned on a nearby set of railroad tracks....

 Deal Caps Head-on Crash Verdict at $300,000
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Baltimore jury awarded $327,000 to four family members involved in a June 2005 head-on collision, but the verdict was reduced to the driver's father's insurance policy limits of $300,000 in keeping with the terms of a pretrial deal.Judith Smulson, who is serving a 1 1/2 year prison term in the Baltimore County Detention Center for robbery, initially denied she had drifted across the double yellow lines separating traffic on Reisterstown Road and crashed into a car driven by Wanda D. Thomas and containing Thomas' aunt and two cousins.In exchange, the plaintiffs agreed to cap the damages at policy limits....

 Insurance Claims 'Trickling in' From Tornado Damage
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
May 13--In the wake of Sunday's tornadoes, midstate residents have reported damage ranging from missing shingles to total losses, home and auto insurers say. "In times like this, when the power is out, generally we'll get an influx of calls as the power starts to come back up," said Geri Powell of Nationwide Insurance, the property claims manager for Georgia. Throughout the day Monday, Powell and claims representatives from other insurers made initial surveys of areas hit hardest by Sunday's tornadoes....

 ATERAS Successfully Completes the Policy Number Expansion Project for Progressive
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
DALLAS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- ATERAS announced today that the Policy Number Expansion Project for Claims IT Systems at Progressive using DB-Shuttle(TM) Enterprise Change capabilities has been a success! The purpose of the project was to use a standard automated method to identify and change the field definition and length of 69 different DB2 columns (including policy number, street names, form numbers and status codes) across multiple databases in the Progressive Enterprise.ATERAS used DB-Shuttle Enterprise Change technology to collect and analyze 11,186,985 lines of code....

 A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Infinity Property & Casualty Group and Its Members
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "a" of Infinity Property & Casualty Group (Infinity P/C) (Birmingham, AL) and its operating members. In addition, A.M. Best has affirmed the ICR of "bbb" and debt rating of "bbb" on $200 million 5.50% senior unsecured notes, due 2014 of Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation (IPCC) (Birmingham, AL) (NASDAQ: IPCC). The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of "a" have been affirmed for Infinity Property & Casualty Group and its following operating members:...

 Fitch Affirms Allstate Corp. & Subsidiaries; Outlook Stable
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of The Allstate Corporation (Allstate) and its property/casualty and life subsidiaries (see list below). The Rating Outlook is Stable.Allstate's ratings continue to be favorably influenced by its top-tier market position and national scope in the personal lines property/casualty business, moderate financial leverage at the holding company level and the diversification benefit provided by the life insurance business....

 Auto Insurance Gets Competitive in Massachusetts
Monday, May 12, 2008
Is the Bay State's switch to competitive auto insurance rates cause for celebration or concern? "The new, managed-competition system penalizes people with bad driving records, and rates are going to be higher for operators who are considered higher-risk, which includes youthful drivers," said Diana Paris, personal lines manager for the Insurance Center of New England in West Springfield. "Early indications seem to be that less-experienced drivers may pay slightly more for their insurance, so not everyone will save money under this system."...

 A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Members of Optimum General Insurance Group
Monday, May 12, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to B (Fair) from B- (Fair) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to "bb+" from "bb-" of Optimum Insurance Company Inc, its wholly owned subsidiary, Optimum Farm Insurance Inc (both of Montreal, Canada) and Optimum West Insurance Company (Vancouver, Canada). Together these members are known as Optimum General Insurance Group. These rating actions reflect A.M. Best's view that the group maintains adequate capitalization, having reported improved operating results and consistently favorable reserve development on both an accident and calendar year basis....

 Sul America S.A. Net Income Increases 65.6% to R$118.3 Million in 1Q08
Monday, May 12, 2008
SAO PAULO, Brazil, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sul America S.A. (Bovespa: SULA11) announces its results for the first quarter of 2008 (1Q08). ROAE was 23.5% in 1Q08.Total insurance premiums reached R$1.8 billion in 1Q08, up 6.8% over 1Q07....

 Sainsbury's Says 1.15 Million People Driving Without Insurance
Monday, May 12, 2008
New research from Sainsbury's car insurance has revealed that 1.15 million people have admitted to having driven a car in the last 12 months, without having insurance. Nearly two-fifths of these people were aged 17 - 24 and a further 22% were aged 25 - 34.On a regional basis, 6% of people in London have admitted to driving in the past year without having car insurance - the highest for any part of Britain....

 Internet Captures Market Share From Traditional Agents in Purchase of Auto Insurance Policies
Monday, May 12, 2008
RESTON, Va., May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore, Inc. , a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results of The 2008 comScore Online Automobile Insurance Report, which provides insights into the online auto insurance market and the behaviors and attitudes of auto insurance consumers. The report is based on behavioral data collected from comScore's panel of 1 million U.S. consumers during 2007 and a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. Internet users conducted during the third week of March 2008. The study results are summarized below and will be presented in greater depth during a free, public webinar on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM EDT (details below)....

 On the Road: Male Drivers 'Like Cavemen'
Sunday, May 11, 2008
A MAJOR insurance company has taken the controversial step of describing its male customers as having the behavioural instincts of cavemen. On-line insurance company esure says that men have spent 99 per cent of their evolution as hunters and fighters with an overriding survival instinct that is now manifest in their driving. The company says it is a male phenomenon that pays no heed to cultures, faiths or nationality....

 Switching Beats Car Premiums ; PERSONAL FINANCE
Sunday, May 11, 2008
More than six million people have switched car insurance provider during the past six months in a bid to beat rising premiums. About 14 percent of motorists questioned by financial website MoneyExpert.com said they had changed insurer when their policy came up for renewal. It predicts that the rising cost of claims means insurers will increase premiums by about ten percent this year....

 Why Loyalty Does Not Pay for Car Insurance Customers
Sunday, May 11, 2008
More than six million people have switched car insurance provider during the past six months in a bid to beat rising premiums, research showed.Around 14 per cent of people said they had changed insurer when their policy came up for renewal, according to financial website MoneyExpert.com.The group predicts that car insurance firms will hike premiums by around 10 per cent this year due to rising claims costs....

 5 Minute NATIONAL News Round-Up: 'Crack Down on ASBO Gangs' Call
Saturday, May 10, 2008
POLICE were today due to be urged by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to crack down on a hard core of individuals who ignore warnings to stop their anti-social behaviour. Building on a scheme piloted in Essex, officers will be urged to give those who persistently make their neighbours' lives hell "a taste of their own medicine" by subjecting them to repeated visits, checks and warnings. And their details could be shared with other Government agencies, so that they can be targeted for checks on whether they have paid their road tax, car insurance, TV licence and council t...