Latest Insurance News

Bill Advances to Raise Car Insurance Minimum

By WILL SENTELL Louisiana motorists would be required to carry more liability insurance under a bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday on a 22-10 vote. The proposal, Senate Bill 223, next faces action in the House. Current state law requires motorists to carry at least $10,000 for the property damage of others, $20,000 for everyone hurt in an accident and up to $10,000 per person injured or killed. The coverage is known as 10-20-10. Under the bill those minimums would rise to $25,000 ...

St. Petersburg Times, Fla., On Money Column

By Helen Huntley, St. Petersburg Times, Fla. May 27--DON'T LEAVE YOUR CASH UNCLAIMED: Anybody can wind up on Florida's missing money list, even the governor. Florida's Bureau of Unclaimed Property is holding more than $1-billion, waiting for the rightful owners to claim it. Included are two accounts that apparently belong to Gov. Charlie Crist -- a car insurance premium refund and a utility refund. When I checked the list a few years ago, I found then-Gov. Jeb Bush, who had a couple of un...

ABC Hopes Cavemen Will Be Standing Tall

ABC is taking a big gamble this fall, betting that a series of 30- second, one-joke ad spots has the potential to fill up 30 minutes of prime time. By taking Geico car insurance's popular cavemen marketing campaign and expanding it into a full-length sitcom called, yes, "Cavemen," ABC is hoping to catch up with its rivals, who have been trouncing the network during prime time. It's an uphill battle for a cast of characters who haven't yet invented the wheel. The new series, helmed by ad...

EDITORIAL: Car Insurance Revisited

By The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. May 28--One of the lessons in Legislating 101 is that when your bill doesn't have the votes, don't just throw it to the wolves. There's little reason to press ahead with something headed for certain defeat -- take it back to the lab and try to make it something your colleagues can swallow without gagging. State Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville hardly needs to be reminded of a rule so elementary. After all, if there were a doctorate in the legislative ar...

Nissan 350z ; Last Chance to Buy

When's it going? The 350Z is being replaced by a pretty much identical model. Look carefully, and you'll see a bulge on the bonnet; underneath is an engine that's 80 per cent new, with longer con rods, a wider range of operation for the variable valve timing and equal length exhaust manifolds. So the new unit can produce 309bhp. But there was-n't much wrong with the old one. What's good about it? This is an old-fashioned, aggressive, slightly brutish car. With a 300bhp, 3.5-litre V6 engi...

Bring Down the Curtain on a Sad Equitable Saga

By JEFF PRESTRIDGE No one can deny that between them chairman Vanni Treves and chief executive Charles Thomson have done an excellent job in the past six years steering Equitable Life from the brink of financial disaster. Treves has had a massively calming influence on the mutual while Thomson, though dreadfully overpaid, has skilfully managed to dismantle the business bit by bit without the remainder folding in on itself. Out of the window has gone the University Life subsidiary (sold ...

Your Money: I Saved Pounds 300 on Cover for My Fiat ; CASE STUDY

By MELANIE WRIGHT GAP-year student Catherine Hebden, 19, saved pounds 300 on her car insurance by shopping around. Catherine, from Wirral, Merseyside, is working as an office temp before she starts university and drives a 2002 Fiat Punto. She said: "I looked on moneysupermarket.com to compare quotes and found there was a difference of around pounds 300 on the same level of cover depending on which insurer I went for. The cheapest quote I was offered was from Diamond, who specialise in p...

Auto Insurance Requirements Are Up in the Air: What Kind of Car Insurance Will Be Mandated When the No-Fault Law Expires in October Depends on Whom You Ask

By Beatrice E. Garcia, The Miami Herald May 27--If lawmakers don't take action before the state's no-fault law expires in October, the courts could well decide how much and what kind of auto insurance coverage Florida drivers will have to buy. Uncertainty reigns, as insurers, regulators and legislative staffers trying to figure out what life on the road without no-fault means are offering very different interpretations. Some, including the state agency that enforces the no-fault law, be...

News: Briefs

By Anonymous BT has expanded its marketing department with the hiring of two senior marketers. It has poached Sara Bennison from Grey London to be its group head of marketing communications, while Brant Long joins from FutureBrand as group head of marketing strategy. Apple has hired WWAV Rapp Collins to its UK direct marketing business. The agency picked up the brief after a competitive pitch. Apple's ad account is held by fellow Omnicom agency TBWA\London. The Body Shop is seeking a cr...

Admiral Steers Clear of Confusion ; INSURANCE

Motor insurance group Admiral confirmed yesterday it was considering the sale of price comparison website Confused.com. Admiral is reviewing its options regarding the venture, including a sale, after it received a number of approaches from parties interested in buying the business. Analysts predict Confused.com could be worth around pounds 600 million, but it is believed that Admiral's bankers at Merrill Lynch are looking for around pounds 700 million. Confused.com, which is based in Ca...