California drivers don't need to go without auto insurance

Parent company Farmers cites drops in the frequency and severity of accident claims as factors in the decision to lower rates by $34 million statewide. Customers of 21st Century Auto Insurance Co.

A former Auto Club insurance agent alleges the company penalizes workers for signing up customers who previously were uninsured.A former insurance agent at the Auto Club of Southern California has sued the company, accusing it of violating state law by penalizing agents for selling policies to previously uninsured consumers, four years after the company settled similar allegations.

NEW ORLEANS — Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation’s midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, where authorities warned would-be travellers to stay home. Fog blanketed highways, including arteries in the Atlanta area where motorists slowed as a precaution. In New Mexico, drivers across the eastern plains had to fight through snow, ice and low visibility.

Drivers covered by the company's Farmers Insurance Exchange subsidiary will see premiums fall by an average of 14.5% and can get a 10% rebate on policy renewals. California's largest auto insurer, Farmers Insurance Group, announced Tuesday that it was reducing its rates by an average of 14.5% for policies issued by its Farmers Insurance Exchange subsidiary.

After staying close to home last Memorial Day, they plan to hit the road in greater numbers this year, an AAA survey says. Travelers also are expected to spend a little more than they did in 2009.

I'm a bit baffled by Michael Kinsley's column this morning on the need to go for the "low-hanging fruit" in health-care reform. This graf, for instance, doesn't work on two levels:

With their 'preexisting conditions,' the Perrys can't get private coverage. Now they're spending retirement funds on a state policy that caps at $75,000 a year.

By Kate Sheppard There's growing frustration about the administration's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with complaints that officials have been sluggish in demanding BP be more transparent and hesitant to criticize the company's inability to plug the well. The administration clearly faces a number of tough choices here with few right answers, but there's one area where it could be weighing in on specifics but haven't: the liability cap on oil spills.