Driving Privileges for Illegal Immigrants an Increasing Concern
Posted 5:39 PM Dec-03-2006
Dec. 3--Immigrant advocate groups say people who are in the country illegally drive out of necessity, even without driver's licenses or motor vehicle insurance. In response, State Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island plans to introduce legislation to allow "driver's certificates" for qualified illegal immigrants. In Nebraska, immigrant advocates have become increasingly concerned about driving privileges and traffic stops since 2002, when the state began requiring all applicants for driver's licenses to have valid Social Security numbers....

 MOT Madness Will Make Kids Bigger Menace
Posted 5:39 PM Dec-03-2006
THE Government is considering scrapping yearly MOT tests. If they were serious about protecting the environment and making sure our roads really are safer because there are fewer cowboys riding around in clapped-out death traps, then they wouldn't be doing this. Already a third of young drivers have used their cars without insurance at some point....

 EDITORIAL: Two Ups and a Down
Posted 5:39 PM Dec-03-2006
Dec. 3--The continued crackdown on auto insurance fraud is bringing much-needed relief to Massachusetts motorists. Insurance rates have fallen by more than 10 percent in the past two years and may well drop by another 10 percent next year. It was more than troubling to see that one of the state's 10 most wanted sex offenders was released from court last week on personal recognizance even though prosecutors requested the former Townsend man be held without bail....

 Ashmore Fills the Gap
Posted 5:39 PM Dec-01-2006
The gap in UK car insurance that appears whenever a vehicle is stolen or made a total loss has been addressed by personal lines, high street intermediary Ashmore Insurance Services on a new website www.gap4brokers.co.uk.He summarises the problem: "With over 300,000 vehicles becoming a total loss each year; car crime at 20% of all crime within the UK; over a third of stolen vehicles never being found; and depreciation knocking off up to 50% over a three year period the demand arises for GAP Insurance to literally close the gap between the claim pay-out and the real loss. Without GAP, the motor insurer will only pay the current market value of the total loss vehicle, leaving the motorist to pay the difference between that and the cost of a new vehicle....

 Independent Insurance Investments, Inc. Acquires Omni Insurance Group
Posted 5:39 PM Dec-01-2006
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent Insurance Investments, Inc. ("Independent") today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Omni Insurance Group ("Omni") from The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. .Independent, a non-standard auto insurance specialist, was itself acquired in December 2004 in a transaction backing incumbent management with equity capital provided principally by Inverness Partners II, LP ("Fund II"), a private equity fund managed by Inverness Management LLC ("Inverness"). Inverness and certain of its limited partners provided substantially all of the equity capital required for the Omni acquisition....

 Auto Rates May Drop but Not for All in 2007
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-30-2006
Nov. 30--Auto insurance rates are expected to take a big drop next year in Massachusetts, but about a third of the state's drivers won't see any change in their premiums for at least a year. A state law passed in 2004 changed the effective date of the 2007 auto insurance rates from Jan. 1 until April 1, which means anyone renewing their policy during the first three months of the coming year will continue to be billed at the 2006 rate for all of 2007. Some industry analysts have speculated that rates may fall 10 to 15 percent on April 1....

 Fraud Crackdown Will Slash Auto Rates
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-30-2006
Nov. 30--Most Greater Lowell drivers won't have to shell out as much for their insurance premiums next year, thanks to a targeted attack on insurance fraud in Lowell and across the state. "It's quite clear that while the number of accidents across the state have gone down slightly, the number of injury claims around the state is down dramatically, particularly in those communities like Lowell where fraud was an issue," said Daniel Johnston, president of the Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts. The drop could mean an average $152 in savings for Lowell drivers and $88 in savings for drivers from Chelmsford....

 Seven Percent Auto Rate Reduction for Auto Club's Insurance Affiliate Starts December 1
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-30-2006
As an early holiday gift to policyholders, the Automobile Club of Southern California's affiliated insurance company is reducing auto insurance rates by an average seven percent starting December 1 for new and renewing policyholders. At the same time, the Auto Club's insurance affiliate will implement new Department of Insurance regulations that reduce the effect of where someone lives, the first insurer in the state to do so.The Auto Club's insurance affiliate, the fourth largest auto insurer in the state, was able to reduce rates due to a reduction in the number of bodily injury, property damage and collision claims....

 Auto Insurer Kicks-Off Special, First-Of-Its-Kind Discount for New Jersey Mass Transit Riders
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-29-2006
HOBOKEN, N.J., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- New Jersey Skylands Insurance Companies is leading the charge to make auto insurance more affordable for drivers throughout the Garden State. Today they unveiled an innovative promotion that highlights a first-of-a-kind discount for New Jersey drivers who regularly commute to work via mass transit -- a discount of up to 10 percent on New Jersey Skylands' already low rates."It's no secret that New Jersey drivers have paid some of the highest car insurance premiums in the nation over the last few years," said Joe Armeni, President, New Jersey Skylands Insurance Companies....

 IN BRIEF (Page: 1, Date: 11/28/2006)
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-28-2006
Seven insurers, who underwrite 90 per cent of the auto insurance market in Beijing, yesterday launched a campaign against increasingly rampant fake claims."The move aims to better protect consumers' benefits as those fake claims boost the overall premiums," said Gu Wei, deputy general manager of the Beijing branch of PICC Property and Casualty Insurance Co.(c) 2006 China Daily; North American ed.....

 In the Money
Posted 5:39 PM Nov-28-2006
BLACK Country Chamber member Top Marques Insurance has scored with Walsall FC - by providing car insurance for team manager Richard Money.(c) 2006 Evening Mail; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning....

 I'M Scuppered! ; Yachtsman's Insurers Refuse to Pay Out Over Sinking Because Girlfriend Was at the Wheel
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-26-2006
WHEN Paul Compton's girlfriend smashed his Pounds 250,000 yacht into rocks, he was quick to forgive her. Even though the boat sank, stockbroker Mr Compton was 'not angry' in the knowledge that he had comprehensive insurance covering the brand-new craft or so he thought. Apparently, the claim was scuppered by his decision to leave his 33-year-old girlfriend Hannah Gutteridge at the wheel....

 Motoring NEWS Nov 24, 01:59 AM
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-24-2006
IF you're a mum to be, and expecting quintuplets, then you're quids in with Kia.The firm have gone all family friendly in rewarding prospective parents - if you're having quins, then you get a seven-seater Kia Carens free.If it's quads, there's pounds 4000 knocked off Carens prices, for triplets take pounds 3000 off, and for twins, pounds 1000....

 Briefly Local
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-24-2006
Airport's cell phone lot opens The cell phone lot at the Colorado Springs Airport has opened in time for the holiday travel season. The cell phone lot is located off Milton E. Proby Expressway to the east, just before the arrival and departure lanes near the terminal building....

 Letter: To the Point
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-23-2006
MY car insurance has gone up by almost pounds 100 although I have made no claims for 20 years. My wife died earlier this year so thank you, Norwich Union, for your sympathy and understanding. Gerry Aldersley Barnoldswick, Lancs...

 Wheel Scots:Daily Record; Glasgow (UK) - Nov 22, 01:52 AM
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-22-2006
SEVEN inches has been added to the iconic little Smart ForTwo range to increase body safety. IMAGINATIVE, and exceptional - Saab's stunning Aero X has been crowned Concept Car of the Year by Autocar magazine. It strongly points to the design direction Saab may be taking....

 EDITORIAL: Car Trouble: The American Auto Industry Has Made Its Share of Mistakes. Then Again, It Didn't Invent Our System of Health Care
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-22-2006
Nov. 22--American automakers failed to place even one car on the insurance industry's list of the safest vehicles. The announcement amounted to one more episode of troubling news for Ford, General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler, a reminder that the industry's woes have more to do with its own decision-making than anything else. Actually, American automakers provide too easy of a target, and to such a degree that their more compelling concerns may be pushed aside....

 Nov 21, 2006 @ 12:52 PM -- South City News: Birmingham Magistrates
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-21-2006
CASES dealt with by Birmingham magistrates on November 15 included: (c) 2006 Evening Mail; Birmingham (UK). All rights Reserved...

 21st Century Insurance Group Announces Quarterly Dividend 2006-11-21
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-21-2006
About 21st: Good people to callFounded in 1958, 21st Century Insurance Group is a direct-to-consumer provider of personal auto insurance. 21st Century Insurance Company, 21st Century Casualty Company, and 21st Century Insurance Company of the Southwest are rated A+ by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's....

 Fellow-Employee Exclusion Valid, MD Court of Appeals Holds
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-21-2006
In a case with major ramifications for insurance coverage, the Court of Appeals has upheld an exclusion in a commercial automobile policy for injuries to one worker caused by another.As long as the exclusion provides for the statutory minimum coverage, it is acceptable, the court held.Steven E. Leder, who represented Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. in the case, said the top court's decision will likely apply to other exclusions as well....

 Car Insurance Change in the Air ; Lame-Duck Official Set to Impose New Rules Despite Pleas for Delay
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-21-2006
Gov. Mitt Romney's insurance commissioner says she plans a change to the state's auto insurance rules that could affect one million people, even though opponents are asking her to hold off on a decision in deference to Governor-elect Deval Patrick.Auto insurance reform has been one of the Romney administration's top priorities, with Romney arguing that the state needs more competition to attract well-financed, out-of-state carriers. At a hearing at One South Station in Boston today, Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler was expected to listen to testimony on her proposal to assign undesirable drivers to specific companies....

 Midland Drivers in More Crashes ; The World Today
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-20-2006
THE highest number of drivers who have been involved in a road accident this year are from the Midlands, it was revealed today.Nationally, it is 17-24-year-olds who are most at risk from crashes, according to figures released by car insurance providers Sainsbury's Bank.The figures showed that 4 per cent of motorists in Britain were involved in a road accident between April and September this year with the figure rising to 6 per cent for drivers in the Midlands....

 GEICO Consumer Alert: Be Watchful of Auto Theft and Accident Scams During the Holidays
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-20-2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holiday season right around the corner, GEICO advises vehicle owners across the country to take precautions while driving and shopping to keep themselves and their autos safe."Auto theft and fraud perpetrators don't take time off during the holidays," said Seth Ingall, GEICO's vice president of claims. With that in mind, GEICO recommends these steps to help reduce the chances your car will be targeted:...

 Safer to Drive in Scotland
Posted 5:38 PM Nov-20-2006
SCOTLAND is the safest part of the UK to drive in, it was claimed yesterday, with figures showing only 2per cent of Scottish drivers had accidents between April and September this year. The average for Britain as a whole was 4per cent, according to figures released by car insurance providers Sainsbury's Bank.(c) 2006 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)....

 Pounds 100,000 of Sufferers' Cash Blown on Butterflies ; THE M.E. FOUNDATION FIASCO
Posted 5:37 PM Nov-19-2006
FOUR charity bosses accused of squandering pounds 2.6million claim they spent pounds 100,000 on protecting rare butterflies.The directors, who it is claimed did not hand over a penny to victims of the chronic fatigue disease ME, pulled the plug on plans to build a respite centre when land costs spiralled to pounds 260,000.The directors have had their assets seized by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator....