Results tagged “Auto”

The government of Canada has published the regulations surrounding low-Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) automotive refinishing products.
The regulations introduce VOC concentration limits for 14 categories of coatings and surface cleaners, which are used for refinishing or repairing the painted surfaces of automobiles, trucks, and other mobile equipment, according to Environment Canada's Web site.
The regulations will come into force on June 18, 2010 -- one year after the regulations were registered -- to allow for a transition period for automotive and refinishing product manufacturers and importers, according to Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations.

Kanetix.ca has released the top 10 most popular hybrids quoted for 2008, as determined by auto insurance quotes sought on the site.
The top 10-quoted hybrids for the first six months of 2008 are:
• Toyota Prius
• Honda Civic Hybrid
• Toyota Camry Hybrid
• Ford Escape Hybrid
• Toyota Highlander Hybrid
• Lexus RX400h
• Honda Accord Hybrid
• Nissan Altima Hybrid
• Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid
• Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid
With the rising cost of gas prices, the hybrid market seems to be steadily rising as well, according to a kanetix.ca release.
"In the first six months of 2008, hybrid auto insurance quotes on our site have already reached 74% of 2007's total," George Small, co-founder of kanetix.ca, explains in the release. "If the trend continues, 2008's total hybrid quote activity should not only match 2007 but actually exceed it by almost 50%."
Hybrids are marketed as an environmentally friendly way to save you gas money, Gregory Ellis, co-founder of kanetix.ca notes in the release. "Of course, when it comes to money-saving potential there are other considerations, too -- like the cost of insurance."

Ontario auto rates are on the rise, according to data posted by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), the regulator of the province's insurers.
Rate applications approved for 2008 Q1 averaged +1.05%, based on the entire market, FSCO noted in an online bulletin.
Rate changes approved in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 were -10.60%, -2.43%, -1.27% and +0.55%, respectively, for the entire market.
In 2008 Q1, for the 43.37% of the market that had rate changes approved, the average rate change was +2.42%, when weighted by market share.

Desjardins General Insurance (DGI) is now offering direct home and auto insurance in Ontario.

Forty per cent of collision repair centres responding to a Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) survey noted they have suffered a loss of tradespeople within the last year, potentially affecting the cycle times of car repairs and, as a result, affecting insurers' costs.
On average, a collision repair shop has five technicians on staff, the research found. But these same shops reported they have lost an average of two tradespeople in the last 12 months, Jay Perry, the owner and founder of Automotive Business Consultants (ABC), told attendees at a January 2008 CCIF meeting in Toronto.
"That's huge," he added. "If you consider the initial statistic of five average techs and then you've lost two in the last 12 months we are losing a lot of people to a lot of other trades and there are a myriad of reasons for that."

DENVER (AP) - A woman involved in a two-vehicle crash in Denver more than two years ago has gone back to court in an effort to get an insurance company to pay up.

Shantel Gonzales was riding with a friend on Father's Day 2005 when the vehicle in which she was a passenger collided with a truck.

Gonzales was 22 weeks pregnant at the time. Doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section, delivering a boy that Gonzales named Marco. But he was born 3.5 months premature, and lived for just over an hour.

Gonzales sued Shelter Insurance for damages, and a jury last year awarded her $130,000.

The woman's attorney says Shelter hasn't paid that verdict, though it did pay $14,000 toward her medical expenses.

Shelter would not comment.

The trial is expected to last three or four days.

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Top-Rated Auto Insurance Companies
Company	Total Premiums	Grade
United Services Automobile Association	$1.7 billion	A+
USAA Casualty Insurance Co.	$1.3 billion	A+
Interins Exchange of the Automobile Club	$1 billion	A+
Dairyland Insurance Co.	$92 million	A
Auto-Owners Insurance Co.	$380 million	A
Sentry Insurance a Mutual Co.	$276 million	A
Country Mutual Insurance	$527 million	A
Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.	$115 million	A
Mercury Insurance Co. (NYSE: MCY)	$674 million	A
Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.	$255 million	A
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

1. Take a driver safety course.

2. Increase your deductible.

3. Forgo comprehensive and/or collision coverage.

4. Compare prices regularly.

5. Use the same company for homeowners and auto insurance.

6. Take advantage of group discounts.

7. Choose a vehicle that is less expensive to insure.

8. Use your clean credit report to your advantage.

9. Ask about discounts for young drivers.

10. Pay your premium in advance.

Detailed description about the above top 10 tips to save your Auto Insurance bill, click here.

Court discourages lawyer from adding insurer as defendant ‘just in case’

It would appear from a review of these cases that it is the practice of plaintiff’s counsel to commence an action against the plaintiff’s own insurer ‘just in case’ a coverage problem should arise in the course of the action, without there being any reason to believe that such a problem exists at the time of the inception of the action. Such a practice should be discouraged.

Liberty – State Police have arrested a 51-year-old North Branch man on a charge of insurance fraud.

State Police and the state Insurance Frauds Bureau conducted an investigation involving false information provided to an insurance company by Edward Lama.

Police said Lama owns and operates two businesses in Brooklyn, yet he obtained insurance coverage for his vehicles by listing an address in the Town of Callicoon as the business location.

The phony business addresses defrauded the insurance company out of mover $3,000, authorities said.

Lama was arraigned and committed to the Sullivan County Jail on $3,000 bail.

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Auto insurance rates in North Carolina rank sixth-lowest among all states, one rung down from fifth-lowest previously, according to the latest nationwide data.

For more information, click here.

Frontal crash protection has improved for the six mid-sized SUVs tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but the tests reveal significant differences in how well SUVs protect people in serious side crashes.

So I hope you find some time to read the whole story of this side crash on SUV.

According to the court, Carluccio, an employee of Carluccio Construction Inc., was driving the company car, insured by Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, with a license that had expired in January of that year.
Carluccio argued he did not receive a renewal form or any notice from the Ministry of Transportation that his license had expired.
Aviva denied liability to both the construction company and Pat Carluccio on the basis that driving with an expired license was a breach of statutory condition No. 4 of the Insurance Act.

Based on the rule of Ontario Superior Court Justice, the Insurer does not have to provide a defence to its insured.

It is clear breach the statutory condition, will void your policy. Any drivers does not hold valid driver license and have a damage in accident, the Auto Insurance policy will not pay you for the liability or property damage.

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The Florida Legislature has passed a bill to bring back the state's no-fault auto insurance system Jan. 1.

It is good news for Florida residence. If any accidents happen, the people will behave been covered by Medical care and an insurance company will pay the bill to the hospital.

If this one is missing, the people may have not enough emergent funds to get proper treatment. Or, after treatment, he can not pay the bill for it.

I trust No-fault Auto Insurance should be included in the basic Auto Insurance coverage.

The bill to restore no-fault passed the House 105-4 early Friday and later in the day was passed unanimously by the Senate. Gov. Charlie Crist has indicated he will sign the bill into law

The system that expired Oct. 1 provided no-fault coverage for damage resulting from automobile accidents and required drivers to buy at least $10,000 in coverage, which covers medical expenses if they have no health insurance. State legislators failed to extend the law during the regular legislative session earlier this year, but the issue was added to the agenda of the special session that started this week.

Auto insurance companies favored the expiration of the system because it was riddled with fraud, but hospitals were worried that they wouldn't get paid for medical care provided to uninsured motorists.

Do you think the Auto Manufacture will get involved into Auto Insurance market? I have not. Now, it may come into East Canada. See news below.

Toyota Canada Inc. is eyeing the car insurance market as part of an aggressive expansion plan, reports the Globe and Mail.
The giant vehicle manufacturer already offers insurance in several other countries, including Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Thailand, the paper reported.
“If everything goes well, we want to [offer insurance] within a year,” Toyota president Yoichi Tomihara told the Globe and Mail.
While most vehicle manufacturers in Canada have financial services arms, Toyota would be the first to enter the auto insurance market, although its presence would probably be limited to Ontario, Alberta and Atlantic Canada, where the auto insurance market is private, the paper added.
Ryan Lee, a professor in the department of risk management and insurance at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, commented on the potential move to the Globe and Mail.
Lee told the paper the ability to sell insurance through an existing dealership network would give an auto manufacturer a major advantage at the outset, but it is not clear to what extent such a move would shake up the market.

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In BC Canada, ICBC is the only insurance carrier for basic Auto insurance. Tne name of products is Autoplan.

Basic Autoplan makes sure all B.C. drivers have some insurance. But most B.C. motorists buy extra coverage for their vehicles, themselves, and equipment they've added to their vehicles. ICBC sells a variety of optional coverages to meet these needs.

More coverage for your vehicle
Collision
Comprehensive
Specified Perils
Vehicle in Storage
Limited Depreciation Coverage
Replacement Cost Coverage
Collector & Vintage vehicles

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has approved an average fourth-quarter rate decrease of 2.56% for 12 companies representing almost a quarter of the Ontario private passenger auto insurance market.

The average rate decrease for the first, second, and third quarters were 1.12% (7.5% of the market), 1.62%(45.79% of the market) and 1.62%(61.82% of the market), respectively.

Rate changes approved for the entire market averaged a decrease of 10.6% in 2004, FSCO recently announced on their Web site. In 2005, approved rates declinded by 2.43% for the entire market.

"The rate changes posed reflect cost savings measures arising from recent reforms to the automobile insurance system, which are being passed onto consumers in the form of lower rates," FSCO says on its web site. "The approved rate change shown for each insurance company is the average for that particular company. The impact of a rate change on an individual consumer will vary depending on where the consumer lives, the type of car he or she is driving, and other risk characteristics."

Most teens spend months counting down the days until they can drive.

While they see only the possibilities, parents are also aware of the responsibilities anyone takes on when climbing behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The ICBC difference

Most other insurance companies charge some of their highest rates to young drivers. Even if teens only drive their parents' car occasionally, the parents get hit with a noticeable increase in their insurance costs.

At ICBC, youth, sex and marital status are not used to determine your premium level. Every new driver, whether 16 or 56, will start out paying the base premium level when insuring a vehicle.

Basic Autoplan is the minimum amount of insurance any vehicle must carry to legally operate in British Columbia. For more description, see Getting started with Basic Autoplan.

Generally, Basic Autoplan provides coverage to protect you as a person in five different ways: