auto insurance News

30 Years of UIM Coverage Rules Are Wrong, North Carolina Supreme Court Says

North Carolinians can no longer stack underinsured motorist policies to compare to liability limits in order to boost the amount of coverage in an accident, the state Supreme Court said last week in a decision that overturns 30 years of …

UK Insurer Direct Line Posts Operating Loss as it Grapples With Auto Claims Inflation

Direct Line posted a 2023 operating loss as it grapples high motor claims inflation, but reinstated its dividend as the British home and motor insurer tries to fend off takeover offers from Belgian rival Ageas. The 189.6 million pound ($242.6 …

Biden’s Newest Rule on Auto Emissions Set to Boost Electric Car Sales

The Biden administration moved Wednesday to throttle pollution from the nation’s cars and light trucks, imposing tailpipe emission limits so stringent they will compel automakers to rapidly boost sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Though the near-term requirements were …

Ferrari Sued for Failing to Fix ‘Life-Threatening’ Brake Defect

Ferrari NV was accused in a US lawsuit of failing to fix a “dangerous safety defect” with the brakes in some of its luxury sports cars despite issuing multiple recalls. The recalls were no more than “an interim corrective measure” …

Suit Says OnStar, LexisNexis Shared Driving Data with Insurers, Spiking Rates

Do motorist-assistance systems like GM’s OnStar feed data to auto insurers, resulting in higher premiums for some drivers? A south Florida man says indeed, they do, and has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against General Motors and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, …

Study Looking at NHTSA Data Shows Fentanyl is Road-Safety Problem on the Rise

A new study shows fentanyl is potentially becoming a road-safety problem. The study, from researchers at Jerry, a car insurance savings app, examined crash, drug test and population data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration between 2018 and 2021. …

Winning Over the Policyholder: How Claims Can Help Improve Carriers’ Relationships with Insureds

Many years ago, as the holiday season wrapped our home in a festive embrace, a tranquil evening turned into a night we’d never forget. Our family was enjoying the warmth and peace of the season when a fire broke out, …

Viewpoint: UIM Coverage and The ‘Floating Layer’ Theory

Most insurance claims professionals understand that, as opposed to uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which pays damages to an insured who is involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is automobile insurance coverage which protects an …

NHTSA Opens Probe Into Emergency Braking Issues in Certain Honda Vehicles

U.S. auto-safety regulators on Monday launched a preliminary probe into emergency braking issues in certain Honda vehicles following complaints of crashes and fires. The problem affects the 2019-2022 models of the Honda Insight, a hybrid electric car, and the Honda …

Latest Data Show Continued Increase in Electric Vehicle Collision Claims

The frequency of claims submitted for repairable electric vehicles rose to its highest level in 2023, ending the year at 1.97% in the U.S. and 2.86% in Canada, a new report shows. Technology and information provider Mitchell International Inc. issued …