The latest in predictive modeling

I know this is a big story, because my Mom railed on about it this weekend. She’s not an Allstate customer, and she doesn’t live in Oklahoma.: If you’re a lousy driver, are you also more likely to be a mishap-prone homeowner? Allstate Corp.believes there’s a correlation. The Northbrook-based company confirmed it has begun considering [...]

Mr. Discount Double-Check

I’ve heard all publicity is good, but I wonder if State Farm is slowly shaking its head over its poster child, Aaron Rodgers, today. In case you slept through football season, State Farm turned the Green Bay QB’s signature TD move into a marketing campaign, the Discount Double-Check. In the ads, agents and customers do [...]

Study: Women are better drivers

4autoinsurancequote CEO James Shaffer: It’s almost scary how bad the average American man is at driving.Blame it on whatever you want — high testosterone, higher propensity to take risks, or higher levels of aggression, but the fact remains — men simply make too many mistakes behind the wheel. It defies the stereotype. Not a big [...]

Where fraud lives

I used to live in Florida, so no surprise here: State investigators are considering criminal charges after finding regulatory violations in almost 90 percent of the pain clinics that treat automobile accident victims in Miami-Dade County. A three-day sweep found irregularities in 43 of 49 clinics investigated in a three-day sweep. During those checks, investigators [...]

Bad stats

*Heavy sigh* to the Wall Street Journal’s driving blog. It spotlights “conflicting data” on cell phone use in cars. An NTSB study indicates that “5% of drivers were holding a cell phone behind the wheel.” About 1% were texting. To the blogger, this contradicts a study by State Farm, in which 58% of people said [...]

Claim of the Week: The meteor made me do it.

Via L.A. Times: Man drives off cliff while watching a meteor shower. A man trying to catch a glimpse of the Geminid meteor shower ending up driving his Mustang off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest, officials said Wednesday. Fortunately, minor injuries.

Auto insurers vs. auto repairers

From USA Today: Auto repair shops are stepping up their efforts against insurance companies, which they argue are controlling their prices by steering customers toward preferred businesses that do their bidding. Auto body trade groups are promoting bills in state legislatures from Massachusetts to Iowa to try to change the rules of the game. At [...]

Fraud besieges Florida no-fault

I used to live there, so I feel comfortable in saying Florida never saw a scam it didn’t like. Friday, PCI blew the lid (.doc) off Florida no-fault fraud. Regrettably, the Florida no fault system is completely broken. There are more auto lawsuits in Florida than other no fault states, rates are climbing due to [...]

In UK, auto premiums rise 40%

Jaw-dropping increases in auto insurance in Britain, as News-insurance.com reports: Over the first quarter of 2011 – a period when premiums usually show little movement – the typical Shoparound premium for a comprehensive car insurance policy rose by 5.9% to £892.08; and by 40.1% for the 12 months ending 31 March 2011. $1.62 buys a [...]

Allstate’s actuarial astrology

So today I prove that actuaries can ruin any joke. Last week, Allstate tapped its mighty database to figure out which sign of the Zodiac had the best drivers. The results, according to a company press release: Virgos, known to be critical, meticulous and reserved, are also more likely to get into a car accident, [...]