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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: auto insurance

auto insurance stories: 11 news summaries

(Newser) - Car-insurance fraud spurred by the recession is continuing unabated, Newsweek reports. “Give-ups”—feigning theft or arson to collect insurance money on an unwanted vehicle—are up 24% this year over last, according to an industry group. And claims stemming from suspicious car fires are up 27%. “Normally... More »

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recession • arson • insurance fraud • auto insurance • cars • car theft

Insurer Sees Games as Boost for Old Brains

'Mental fitness' software improves reaction time, peripheral vision

Jun 8, 09 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - An experiment by Allstate Insurance and a San Francisco software startup that aims to use computer games to improve the mental health of all ages is getting good reviews, the Chronicle reports, including from one local who says improved reaction time and peripheral vision saved him from an accident. “... More »

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software • brain • driving • auto insurance • brain fitness • Allstate • Posit Science

(Newser) - As the economy sours, a stunning number of drivers are cutting back or dropping their insurance, MSNBC reports—and that has regulators and safety activists worried. “We may be looking at record numbers of uninsured motorists across the nation,” said the president of the Northwest Insurance Council. An... More »

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insurance • recession • auto insurance • uninsured drivers

 Lost Your Job? 
 Hyundai Will Buy 
 Your Car Back 

New incentive plan offers mostly risk-free ownership for a year

Jan 5, 09 7:01 PM CST
(Newser) - With rebates and other incentives failing to entice buyers, Hyundai is letting hard-luck owners return their cars, CNNMoney reports. Buyers who can't make payments because they got fired or went bankrupt are allowed to trade cars back with little or no obligation, within a year. "The goal is that... More »

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South Korea • unemployment • Hyundai • auto industry • job cuts • auto insurance

As Money Woes Rise, Drivers Let Insurance Lapse

Jobless Americans can't afford insurance

Dec 16, 08 10:14 PM CST
(Newser) - As the unemployment rate climbs, so, too, does the number of drivers letting their car insurance lapse, the Wall Street Journal reports. One industry group says several hundred thousand drivers dropped their insurance in the last year alone. A study two years ago pegged the percentage of uninsured drivers at... More »

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uninsured • auto insurance • Allstate • Insurance.com • Insurance Research Council • consumer price index • Insurance Information Institute • State Farm • uninsured drivers

Insurance Guzzles Savings From Fuel-Efficient Cars

Trading down to save money on gas results in higher premiums

Oct 23, 08 11:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Think you’re saving money by driving that small, fuel-efficient car you traded in your SUV for? Maybe, but you’re probably paying more for your insurance—a lot more, reports the Wall Street Journal. In accidents, small cars tend to sustain more damage, and occupants more injures, than larger... More »

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fuel efficiency • Honda • gas prices • Honda Civic • auto insurance • insurance industry • Insurance Institute of Highway Safety • Honda CR-V

Missing Airbags Threaten Drivers of Used Cars

Some dealers ditch safety for cash in 'life-and-death scam'

Oct 13, 08 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Used-car buyers, beware: Missing or ruined air bags are posing a threat to unsuspecting drivers’ lives, an NPR investigation finds. Some dealerships put greed over safety and sell cars that have been in accidents without replacing the protective pouches. Instead, they may stick faulty air bags back in the car,... More »

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car safety • auto insurance • used cars • air bag

Calif. Mulls Pay-as-You-Drive Insurance to Cut Costs, Miles

Option available in 34 states seen to help costs, environment; invasiveness an issue

Jul 15, 08 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - An alliance of insurance companies and environmentalists are pushing to bring  pay-as-you-drive auto-insurance, available from a handful of companies in other states, to California in a big way, the Los Angeles Times reports. The system, which charges premiums based on mileage, as recorded by a GPS tracking device, gives drivers... More »

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California • privacy • air pollution • auto insurance

GLOSSIES

 The Good in $4 Gas 

Less obesity, traffic, and accidents, for starters

Jul 2, 08 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The rest of the world may have thought it would never happen, but energy prices are beginning to change Americans' behavior. Time notes some positive aspects:
  1. Jobs lost to globalization return, because energy costs make international shipping unattractive.
  2. Suburban sprawl is slowing as people choose to live closer
... More »

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obesity • oil • gas • traffic • commute • gas prices • auto insurance

Sioux Falls, SD, Is Safest for Driving: Study

Residents wreck once every 14.6 years; DC worst at 5.4 years

Jul 1, 08 5:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sioux Falls, SD, is the safest US city to drive in for the third year in a row, according to an insurance study. Allstate found that Sioux Falls drivers average an accident only once every 14.6 years, compared to a national average of once every 10, the AP reports.... More »

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driving • auto insurance • Sioux Falls • Allstate

Teens Brake on Driving at 16

Rising costs, tighter laws make many aspiring motorists wait longer for licenses

Feb 25, 08 4:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Turning 16 has long been a rite of passage, but many teens are holding off on that first ticket to freedom: the driver's license. The percentage of 16-year-olds licensed nationwide fell from 43.8% in 1998 to 29.8% in 2006, the New York Times reports. States are tightening underage... More »

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Internet • car accident • driving • driver's license • auto insurance • teenage drivers • driver education • teenager

11 Stories


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