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A Texas court may soon decide if the man who drove his Bugatti Veyron into a lake was committing fraud after his insurance company claimed he crashed the car on purpose to collect $2.2 million in insurance money. Wait, it wasn't a low-flying pelican? You don't say. More »
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The owner of this Massachusetts-based Fiat 500 managed to get tangled into an accident with just 969 miles on the odometer. Now all that stands between you and driving a limited-edition Cinquecento is nearly $10,000 in repairs. More »
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It's been more than a year since a Texan drove his $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron into a lake in the most expensive case of distracted driving yet known. Now you can own the baptized Veyron, but it needs work. More »
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After a 46-year-old Montana cancer patient died in a 2009 traffic accident, insurer MetLife ruled he had committed suicide — and therefore his wife and children couldn't collect a $224,000 life insurance policy. It's not a one-time scam. More »
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Three months back, we wrote about a $200,000 Ford GT totaled by a tuner. Now it's been digested by the insurance process and spit out at a salvage auction. How much would you pay for a crunched supercar? More »
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America's auto insurers will push for new driver monitoring systems, such as in-car video cameras, as a way to cut costs and crashes. Who needs driverless cars when all drivers could soon get an electronic nanny? More »
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Your insurance agent likely prefers you drive a Corvette instead of a Mitsubishi Lancer. That's because, according to the IIHS, Lancer owners report the highest relative insurance losses. Corvette owners? The lowest. Here are the ten biggest insurance losers. More »
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The owner of a rare 1981 BMW M535i came home last month to find his car had been smashed by an out-of-control Volkswagen. Now the insurance company says the BMW is only worth $1,500, totaled. Enthusiasts? Man the barricades! More »
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The flipside of yesterday's 20 most expensive cars to insure in America list is today's Insure.com-provided list of the 20 least expensive cars to insure. Like saving money? Get ready to own a lame crossover or minivan. More »
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We might as well continue our week of Carpocalyptic Saab Mourning, right? Say you're driving your beloved Saab 99 and hydraulic pressure forces you to take an impromptu roadside stop. Then the parking brake fails… More »
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Updated below California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has approved regulations which could lead to a pay-as-you-drive insurance system in California. The idea has the potential to save consumers tons of money but may lead to big-brotherish vehicle tracking systems. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5401616&view=rss&microfeed=true Desperate car owners turning to fraud rather than facing car debt. [MSNBC] More »
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Like salt and pepper, chocolate and vanilla, our look at the 20 most expensive cars to insure for 2009 has a flip-side. Today we'll be looking at the 20 least expensive cars to insure for 2009. More »
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A cost many forget when buying a new car is that with different cars come different insurance prices. Want to know why? We'll show you with this list of the 20 most expensive cars to insure for 2009. More »
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When a police officer asks for proof-of-insurance, most people reach for their card. When it's expired, most people take the ticket. Paul reached for his iPhone and saved himself $200 and a suspended license. More »
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A few of the big insurance companies (Progressive, we're looking at you) have been experimenting with high-tech on-board devices to monitor their customer's driving habits for a few years now. But telematics have finally entered the picture, allowing on-the-fly uploading of driver information, vs the previous systems which required drivers to manually upload their data. A majority of drivers who opt-in will save money; about $270 annually per car, according to one think tank. The downside for us hoons is that any braking or speeding deemed "excessive" will increase your payments. Oh, and don't put too many miles on your car, because that'll increase your rates too. So, how do the new systems differ from the old? More »
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Today in the Javits Center during the 2008 New York Auto Show, X Prize Foundation President Dr. Peter Diamandis, along with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced Progressive will be the corporate sponsor of the long stewing Automotive X prize. The Progressive Automotive X Prize will award $10 million to the winning team after a head-to-head competition scheduled to happen sometime in 2009. The entries must be safe, production capable, and deliver at least 100 mpg. The teams will compete in three different classes — a mainstream class for four wheel, four passenger entries, an Alternative class to push the boundaries of technology, and in 2011, a manufacturers prize for established companies. More »
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"Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's A plane! Oh crap, it's space junk hitting my car!" This has been a fictionalized reenactment of one miss Leah's car getting thwacked with what was apparently a meteorite. We're thinking of calling up our physics major friends, the ones who are mostly unemployed now, and asking them to calculate what the odds are of a moving car being struck by a meteorite. We're betting it's low. BoingBoing ran a post earlier today recounting the tale of the interstellar insurance nightmare and the disbelief is still planted firmly on our faces. [Draplin Design via BoingBoing] More »
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We like to think our skills as automotive wonks are fairly well-honed, but Mr. Eversman at AutoMuse makes us and our little Rules Of The Road feature look amateurish. If you'll remember, he was the one who brought the Allstate repair case to our attention. Now he's taking aim at the "direct repair" or "concierge" services offered by the major insurance companies, which is another insurance program aimed at hurting consumers. More »
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When you're a diesel demon jockeying 18 wheels on the long haul from Krakow Karlovy Vary to Gdansk Zlín, you need to stay alert. Just honk that bicycle horn when you feel fatigued, and your partner will take the wheel. Ideally, one of you will stay awake... but it's best to have insurance, just in case! More »
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Those who thought they were in good hands with Allstate may not have noticed those hands were jacking them off. Insurance company Allstate owns a stake in body shops across the country through company Sterling Autobody Centers. This didn't go over well in Texas where a law was passed to stop this obviously horrible conflict of interest. Despite losing twice in a Texas district court and once at the appellate level, Allstate Insurance and their lawyer Ken Starr (yes, that Ken Starr) is questioning the constitutionality of said law. The perverse logic of it below the jump. More »
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Being a teenager in Canada isn't all it's cracked up to be. Described as having "a tendency to speed" by his doting mother, 19 -year old Jason Towers has racked up no less than 10 speeding tickets since he got his license in May 2005. Towers claims most of those tickets were given for only going a few kilometers over the per-hour limit. Which definitely explains his two license suspensions in that time. If you're starting to get the impression that Towers might be a dangerous driver, you'd be wrong. More »
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While we generally don't think of the New Jersey state assembly when we think of sensible solutions for everyday problems, we have to tip our hats to Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan for his bill that would require insurance companies to create cards the size of a driver's license. We'd be pleased to carry a smaller insurance card in our wallet as opposed to wedged between spare parts and old Talking Heads bootleg cassette tapes in the glove compartment. More »
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If you don't intend to try and hoon your rental Taurus, you might wonder if you're covered in the case of unintentional damage. We've heard many versions of how rental car coverage works, including a belief that you do not need car insurance when you're in your home state, when you've got a good driving record and if you're first name is Ted. The truth lies nowhere in between. More »
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A UK insurance firm found that households with multiple vehicles are 22% less likely to crash than those with only a single car, thus proving that Jay Leno must be one of the world's safest drivers. The reasoning behind this is that individuals with multiple cars generally own more expensive cars and are less likely to wreck a Bentley than a Fabia. But there's more good news! More »
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UK insurance firm Esure, have found that insects are to blame for $88 million in auto damage a year. "It's worrying that over three quarters of the driving population are so easily distracted by bugs when they're behind the wheel. Motorists are panicking and are not only losing their concentration but also control of their cars - putting themselves and other road users at risk," says Esure's Mike Pickard. Should a menacing insect confront you, the company advises you to "Try not to panic and swat the insect or wave your hands around to force the insect away. As well as making you feel more frantic, this will irritate the insect and increase the likelihood of a sting or bite." [Via Automotoportal] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=293087&view=rss&microfeed=true Most obvious consumer insurance story ever: "It pays to comparison shop." [CBS News] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=281841&view=rss&microfeed=true In Michigan if you were to allow motorists to choose less medical coverage on their auto insurance, they could save 10%. Also, they'd spend 90% more when they get hurt in a car. [Detroit News] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=279413&view=rss&microfeed=true UK insurance business prompts fibbing, fibbing, fibbing! [BBC] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=279060&view=rss&microfeed=true Is the next big incentive from automakers free car insurance? Apparently they already be doing it down under, mate. [MSNBC] More »
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The Handsome Dicks at Manitoba Public Insurance have issued a mandate — if you're a Winnipegger (or commute into the city) and your car is on a list vehicles deemed a theft risk, your policy is toast unless you install a microchip immobilizer in your vehicle's ignition system. The Feds of Canadia are mandating such devices on all new vehicles sold, beginning September 1st. On the other hand, MPI is only mandating the devices for Winnipeg-associated cars and trucks. Still, what's gonna keep crooks from breaking in and jacking your Propagandhi or Weakerthans discs, eh? – Davey G. Johnson More »
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According to a four-year study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, you are more likely to die in a two-door, two-wheel-drive Chevy Blazer than any other vehicle in the United States. We're not really surprised, as we remember our neighbor's 1986 Blazer wound up breaking its own windshield sitting still in the driveway. By way of contrast, you are least likely to die inside a Chevy Astro. Which also makes sense, given that 90% of them can no longer move faster than 52 mph. What does this study mean? Not very much, as it doesn't take driver personalty into account. However, the Acura RSX (a triple-hoon favorite) is the second most deadly and the Nissan 350Z (only a double-hooner) is third. Our conclusion? Either the Blazer has some super drift-potential that no one's talking about, or that is one dangerous Chevy. – Jonny Lieberman More »
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OK, so your girlfriend's ex-cop ex-husband has some unresolved Anger Issues and, instead of using his "feeling words" to express his dismay with the situation, he wigs out and pursues you through Lehi, Utah (in a classic Toyota pickup-versus-Chrysler Sebring chase), ramming your car and shooting you in the leg and stomach. Naturally, he has no car insurance, so of course you tell your car insurance company they need to cover your hospital bills. Insurance company: We'll get back to you on that. – Murilee Martin More »
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A UK car insurer pulled out the calculators over the weekend to come up with the price it'd expect to collect in premiums in order to ensure a quick replacement of 007's pretty new Aston Martin DBS in case anything should happen to the fictional character's car. And, after carrying the one and adding a zero somewhere, the folks at Kwik-Fit / Virgin Car Insurance came up with the princely sum of 7,108.50 ( approximately $13,478.39 in real American dollars) for protection on the roads. So that means whether the ride's being fliped over a damsel-in-distress or taking a missile up the arse, James Bond's "perfectly-formed" one will feel comfortable knowing he'll not have to pick up his paycheck from "M" with the price of a Brit sports car deducted from the bottom line. Now, if only the producers of the movie had known this going in — you know, before they totaled the DBS used in the movie (along with a few others) in a record-breaking seven-roll stunt. Check out the gallery below to see the Aston Martin's prettiness before it meets its more than likely end in the new movie. – Ray Wert More »
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We've mostly decided we're tired of SUVs. We've owned one for three years, and the utility is fantastic, and worked wonderfully for us for a while. But now that we rarely drive (and if we do, it's often in a press or rental car), we're thinking about ditching ours for something that's well, more fun. Also, we're tired of SUV assholes, and if there's any relation between Americans and their British forefathers, well, check out the bit after the jump. More »
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The Feds have spoken: No exposure without disclosure. This week, the NHTSA gave automakers a green light to put black-box data recorders aboard new vehicles, but from 2011 onward they must inform car buyers if a model carries such a box. (Currently, 60% of new cars have them.) That'll give regulators and manufacturers plenty of time to work up a standard-triplicate disclosure document (yours is the pink copy) buyers will likely sign and date at purchase time. The agency will also set a baseline requirement for the amount of data the boxes collect during a crash at 15 pieces, including speed, seat belt use (binary), and which pedal a driver hit beforehand. That last one would indemnify carmakers in cases of accidental acceleration. Thanks, Big Bro. Er, sort of. More »
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Across the pond Ford-UK just announced a deal with Norwich Union to provide one year's free comprehensive motor insurance through Ford Insure plus one year's worth of free satellite navigation from Smartnav to eligible customers buying Ford Ka Design, Fiesta Style or StreetKa models. This is totally a brilliant idea we wish auto companies would start offering over here, especially if they can combine it with all the other accoutrements like repair, oil changes and the like — sorta what Chrysler's doing with the whole "Miles to Freedom" thing and BMW's been doin' for years — except with comprehensive collision. But seriously... More »
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Insurance aggregator site Insure.com dropped its latest lists of vehicles most and least expensive to insure. Like most such lists, the most expensive column is mainly a function of "most likely to be stolen," where light trucks like the Ford F-Series and Dodge Ram figure prominently — though not the GMC Sierra — as do hot-selling Japanese models like the Civic, Accord and Camry. Minivans, not so much. Click through for the lists. More »
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Be forewarned, y'all who're gonna try to sue the insurance company of the guy who blasted through your plaster 'n' drywall like Charles Whitman rockin' it at near-point-blank after you pissed him off in traffic: an Arkansas court has ruled that gunfire can't be considered a car accident, even if it's levied from a vehicle, as it was in this case. Our take? All involved? Assholes. [Thanks to The Comedian for the tip.] More »
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A survey of UK insurance claims has uncovered a couple of heretofore unrealized serious culprits: those of food and animals. To wit: "A frozen squirrel fell out of a tree and crashed through the windscreen on to the passenger seat," and "As I was driving round a bend, when one of the doors opened and a frozen kebab flew out, hitting and damaging a passing car." As long as it wasn't a frozen squirrel kebab. We've heard those can actually be lethal. More »
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