The reduction, the biggest since 2009, puts the average statewide price of a CLCA policy at $257.69 annually, according to the announcement. The largest premium changes were mostly concentrated in counties located in Northern California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and Sutter.

The state-sponsored program gives low-income motorists who might otherwise go uninsured access to cheap auto insurance in California with liability-only policies.

To qualify, drivers must be at least 19 years old, have a “good driving record,” have been licensed for at least three years, be seeking to insure a vehicle worth no more than $20,000 and meet income requirements.

Income eligibility is currently based on maximum annual salaries of $27,925 for one person, $37,825 for two people and $57,625 for a family of four. Also, having a single male driver aged 19 to 24 years old adds a 25 percent surcharge to CLCA rates.

“These changes make [CLCA] a more viable option for uninsured drivers” who have been kept out of the market because of high premium prices, commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement.

Jones cited statistics showing that 15 percent of the state’s drivers lack the proper coverage. In their 2012 report to the state Legislature, CLCA officials said 59 percent of drivers enrolled in the program since it began more than a decade ago were previously uninsured.

Ten of the state’s 58 counties charge an average annual premium of $231, the lowest available in the program: Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Benito, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and Tulare.

In 2010, the state approved a five-year extension to the program, which had 9,791 active policies at the end of last year.

All three received the highest-possible “good” rating overall. The kind of car you drive plays a major part in how much it costs to insure, and the top rated auto insurance companies look kindly on cars deemed safe for drivers if they prove it over time through claims data. Better safety features are more than just live-saving—they can mean the crash-related insurance claims you file are cheaper because of less severe injuries.

2012 Azera

The Azera redesign in 2012 was based on the Hyundai Sonata, but IIHS also crash-tested 2006-11 models that replaced the Hyundai XG350 in 2006. The 2012 Azera received overall “good” ratings in both frontal and side-impact crash tests, with “good” grades in every category, including structure/safety cage and head/neck protection.

Azera 2006-11 models got an overall “good” rating for frontal crash tests but an “acceptable” rating in side impact tests.

During frontal examinations, the head of the crash test dummy struck the roof rail and “forces on the right tibia indicate that injuries to the lower leg would be possible.”

Side impact examinations of the 2006-11 Azera model revealed that driver protection was lacking in the torso and pelvis/leg area. Crash tests showed that “a fracture of the pelvis would be likely in a crash” and “rib fractures would also be possible.” The vehicle received the lowest-possible “poor” rating in pelvis/leg protection.

2012 Prius C

The Prius C was introduced in 2012 as a design based on the Toyota Yaris. IIHS gave the vehicle the highest-possible overall marks in both side-impact and frontal crash tests. Those crash tests found that head injuries might be possible because a “high head acceleration occurred when the dummy’s head hit the steering wheel through the frontal airbag.” The Prius C received an “acceptable” rating for the safety of its structure/safety cage.

All three models scored “good” overall ratings in rollover crash tests that determine roof strength.

2013 Malibu Eco

The 2013 Malibu Eco, a redesigned model available as only as a hybrid car, registered “good” ratings on frontal and side impact crash tests. IIHS noted an “acceptable” rating, the second-best grade, for protecting the driver’s torso area. In tests from the institute and General Motors, “measures taken from the dummy indicate that rib fractures would be possible,” according to IIHS.

California a Hot Spot for Thefts of Corvettes, Cars Overall

An analysis of production and theft numbers between 1981 and 2011 showed that more than 1 in every 10 Corvettes were stolen during that time period, with 90,427 Corvettes reported stolen among 862,918 that were produced in the U.S.

Corvettes stolen during that time period were concentrated in 10 states, where 70 percent of all Corvette thefts occurred, according to the NICB. California led other states by far with 14,002 thefts; Florida and Texas followed with 8,731 and 8,198, respectively.

The year 1984 showed both the highest production and theft rates for Corvettes. During that year, 8,554 of the vehicles were stolen out of 51,547 that were built, according to the analysis.

The report was prepared as a part of NICB’s Hot Wheels Classics series, which profiles vintage cars and their theft rates. The Ford Mustang was profiled in January.

The latest full-fledged car theft report from the NICB, based on 2010 numbers, found that the total number of stolen vehicles in the U.S. has decreased over recent years. That report identified metro areas were thefts occurred the most, and 8 of the top 10 cities were in California. The Golden State had the highest number of auto thefts in 2009, according to the NICB.

Auto Theft Rates Carry Insurance Implications

Comprehensive coverage, which is optional, is the only kind of coverage compensating policyholders in instances of theft. Insurers usually lower comprehensive coverage prices when they pay fewer claims related to that type of coverage and when the car being insured has a lower-than-average theft rate.

Drops in a state’s car thefts don’t have an instant impact on costs because insurers mostly refer to local and internal claims statistics to calculate premiums, but long-term decreases in statewide theft rates could eventually be passed onto consumers in the form of lower comprehensive coverage costs.

For example, over time a driver might have an easier time getting cheap car insurance in Michigan to protect against theft, since the amount of cars stolen in the state dropped by more than 9 percent between 2009 and 2010, the fourth consecutive year with lower theft numbers, according to the Michigan Auto Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA).

Michigan motorists saved almost $51 per insured car because of fewer thefts in the state, where average comprehensive premiums fell 4.3 percent, according to the ATPA. Still, Michigan was ranked as having the sixth-highest number of total vehicle thefts in the U.S. in 2010, and the NCIB reported that Michigan had the fifth-highest statewide number of Corvette thefts.

The online survey of 1,300 teenage motorists, conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that a whopping 97 percent say they know texting behind the wheel is dangerous, but 43 percent admit to engaging in the practice.

Seventy-five percent of the survey’s teenage respondents believe that texting while driving is “very dangerous,” but 61 percent glance at their phone behind the wheel. Almost as many, 60 percent, text while at a red light even though 70 percent believe that the behavior is dangerous.

Behavior Encouraged by Peer Pressure, Bad Models

Teens may be promoting bad driving behaviors among themselves, with a huge 89 percent saying that they expect a reply to a text or email within five minutes or less, according to the survey, which also found that 61 percent of respondents say that they have seen friends text, read or send an email as they drove.

Seventy-five percent of teens report that texting is “common” among their friends.

Seventy-seven percent say that they have heard that they should not text while driving from an adult even though adults do it “all the time.” According to the survey, 41 percent of teens report seeing their parents text behind the wheel.

The survey also found opportunities to promote awareness, with 62 percent of teens saying that reminders from parents about the dangers of distracted driving would stop them from engaging in the behavior.

Some Texting Violations Carry Insurance Implications

​Although distracted driving campaigns often focus on its sometimes deadly results, texting behind the wheel can also be a financially costly habit.

Thirty-eight states prohibit all drivers from texting behind the wheel, while 31 ban the practice for new drivers. But different states and insurance companies apply different enforcement measures.

Texting citations sometime entail simple fines while others are categorized as moving violations that will show up on the offender’s record and may make it harder to locate affordable auto insurance.

Last week, Alabama finalized a texting ban with relatively harsh enforcement. Each violation of the new law carries a two-point penalty to a driving record that insurers can view as grounds to raise a policyholder’s insurance premiums.

The legislation, backed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, was spurred by a constituent who lost a car door at an inspection station, according to Sen. Robin Wright-Jones (D-St. Louis), the bill’s sponsor.

When one of her constituents took her car in for an inspection, “the gentleman at this inspection station lost control, ripped off one of the doors to her car, and he didn’t have insurance to fix her vehicle,” Wright-Jones said in a statement, adding that the woman had to dip into her own liability policy to cover the damages.

SB 504 was passed by the state House Transportation Committee on May 2 and Rules Committee on May 10. It was sent out of the state Senate by a 25-8 vote in late March.

Sen.Wright-Jones said the stations should have liability coverage as a “prudent business practice.”

The legislation would fix what Wright-Jones said is an unfair situation for drivers who are required to both have liability coverage on their cars and have those cars checked at emissions and safety inspection stations that aren’t required to carry the same liability coverage.

“Since we are required to have insurance on our vehicles, anyone who is required by law to perform these certain inspections should be covered as well,” Wright-Jones said in a statement.

Without an inspection having liability coverage, consumers who get cheap auto insurance by dropping things like comprehensive and collision coverage, which cover the insured car’s own damages, actually could have to pay for repairs sustained at an inspection station themselves.

Government entities will not be affected financially by SB 504, according to a state fiscal analysis of the legislation, although “small-business inspection stations” without liability coverage would have to purchase policies if the measure is enacted.

Missouri legislators have considered similar measures before sponsored by Wright-Jones, who authored SB 45 in 2011, SB 687 in 2010 and HB 2588 in 2008, according to Stephen Witte, a staff attorney with the state Senate.

Fines for using a hand-held device to text behind the wheel will be $25 for first-time violators, $50 for a second offense and $75 for the third and any subsequent violations. For each violation, the law will also institute a two-point penalty against a driver’s record, which auto insurance companies may be able to view as lawful justification for insurance-rate hikes.

The law goes into effect on Aug. 1, 2012.

“Signing this bill sends a message that drivers need to focus on driving—not on sending a text,” Gov. Bentley said in a statement. “There is nothing so urgent that it is worth risking your life, or the lives of others, by sending a text message while you are driving down the road.”

Federal officials estimate that texting behind the wheel diverts a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, meaning texting motorists going 55 mph are inattentive as they drive for what is equivalent to the length of a football field.

Rep. Jim McClendon (R-Shelby), who sponsored the state House version of the legislation, said that its finalization was a long time coming after six years of advocacy.

“[P]ersistence has finally paid off,” he said in a statement, adding that, “our highways will be safer with the passage of this law.”

The regulation makes texting while driving a primary offense, meaning police can pull over any driver they suspect is breaking the ban to issue a citation.

The law defines prohibited hand-held devices as any that are “readily removable from a vehicle and are used to write, send, or read text or data through manual input.”

The law expressly allows for use of voice-operated devices “which allow the user to send or receive a text-based communication without the use of either hand except to activate or deactivate a feature or function.”

The Missouri Department of Insurance (MDI) handled 1,030 formal cases of complaints and more than 10,000 total inquiries during that time. The number of complaints and inquiries so far this year is outpacing 2011, when the MDI had handled 7,500 complaints and inquiries during the same period.

Shoppers looking to run an auto insurance comparison can get the fullest picture of an insurer’s quality by using both price-comparison tools and consumer-complaint listings, the latter of which are made public by state regulators.

“Missouri consumers who have claims denied by their insurance companies or feel their claim settlement is unfair should not assume they’ve run out of options,” John M. Huff, director of the MDI, said in a statement. “Our expert regulators are here to provide help at no charge to Missouri policyholders who reach an impasse” with their insurers.

The MDI also fined insurers $243,000 and recovered $663,000 in restitution related to exams and investigations of insurer misconduct, according to the department. Violations can range from unlawful rate hikes to delayed claims processing.

Most settlements came from 304 health-related disputes with insurers, followed by 202 auto-related disputes and 162 homeowners-related disputes. A bulk of homeowners’ disputes were related to tornadoes and other severe weather conditions that struck the state in late February and early March, according to the department.

Earlier this month, regulators in Connecticut reported recovering $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2012. In late April, Pennsylvania regulators reported recovering $3.4 million during that same period.

Under PIP, insurers compensate policyholders for crash-related medical expenses regardless of who was at fault, but the form of coverage has been criticized as overly broad and susceptible to crime. Floridians asking how much is car insurance have been seeing rising premiums for years now. And, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), that’s at least partly because of no-fault crimes that cost the state’s residents almost $1.3 billion in higher premiums since 2009.

A revamp of no-fault coverage, titled HB 119, was signed into law last week by Gov. Rick Scott, who prioritized reform because of the rising number of PIP-related crimes and premium costs.

However, language in the new law created a discrepancy between when licenses would be granted to eligible service providers and when listings of exempt providers would take effect.

Under the law’s language, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) licenses PIP-eligible entities on July 1, 2012, allowing them to receive payment from insurers for treating no-fault patients. But language in another part of HB 119 doesn’t finalize the list of exempt providers until Jan. 1, 2013, putting the AHCA “in a conundrum,” according to a three-page legal memo published Tuesday.

Licensing providers in July, before finalizing a list of exempt providers, “would lead to uncertain and absurd results,” stated AHCA General Counsel Stuart Williams, who added that “without applying the exemptions at the time it begins licensing, the agency cannot determine which entities require licensure.”

Hoping to head off the six-month gap in which insurers could refuse payments to providers meant to be PIP-eligible, Williams stated in the memo that the AHCA believes that the entire law was meant to take effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

The AHCA is the first state agency to publicly comment on the law’s discrepancy. Florida insurance regulators have privately pushed insurers to pay eligible PIP providers, according to media reports.

Aiming to cut into no-fault crimes and excessive medical billings, HB 119 shortened the time patients seeking PIP payouts would have to get post-crash initial treatment to 14 days and limited rewards to $2,500 for less serious injuries.

To obtain the full $10,000 in benefits previously rewarded for PIP-related medical treatment, current policyholders must now prove that they have an “emergency medical condition” that warrants the payout. The new law also eliminates previously popular massage therapy and acupuncture services from eligibility for full PIP compensation.

A 16- or 17-year-old driver with one passenger younger than 21 years old is 44 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal crash compared with when they have no passengers, according to the study.

The fatality risk increases exponentially with more young passengers in the car, doubling for teenage drivers with two passengers younger than 21 years old and roughly quadrupling with three or more passengers under age 21.

On the other hand, the study found that having at least one passenger who was 35 or older was associated with a 62 percent decrease in the driver’s risk of being killed in a crash.

Teen Crash Fatalities Halved, but Young Passengers Still a Problem

The report revisits a topic that, when last studied, was based on data that is “now over a decade old,” according to the study. Since that time, the number of fatal crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers has dropped by more than half as most states in the U.S. have implemented graduated driver licensing programs that restrict roadway rights of new drivers, including carrying underage passengers.

“These results show that although the overall number of teen driver fatalities has decreased substantially over the past several years, carrying young passengers is still a significant risk factor for young drivers,” the study stated.

The entire study, titled “Teen Driver Risk in Relation to Age and Number of Passengers,” is available on the foundation’s website.

Young Passengers Least Likely to Stop Distracted Driving

Overall, teenagers are already vulnerable to fatal incidents on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that traffic crashes are the leading single cause of death for teenagers, who are involved in three times as many fatal crashes per mile driven as any other age group in the U.S.

Combining young drivers with young passengers may be a recipe for disaster, as young drivers are the age group most susceptible to being distracted behind the wheel and young passengers are the least likely to stop such behavior.

According to an NHTSA survey published last month, young passengers were the least likely to say something to a distracted driver about their behavior. About one-third of passengers aged 18 to 24 reported that they would speak up if they were in a car with a driver using a hand-held phone, compared with half of 65-year-old drivers and older who said they would do the same.

At the same time, motorists under 25 years old are two to three times more likely to send or read a text or email behind the wheel.

Insurance Implications

Getting an online car insurance quote is likely to show unpleasantly higher rates for parents shopping for their newly licensed driver.

Studies from both federal entities, like the NHTSA, and independent sources, like AAA, repeatedly connect teenagers with riskier habits on the road, including distracted driving and carrying passengers who increase the danger of crashing. Insurers consequently charge higher insurance premiums for those new drivers.

More crashes on a teenager’s driving record will undoubtedly hike his or her insurance premium, but it’s not as clear-cut for other risky habits behind the wheel commonly linked to teenagers.

Distracted driving violations like talking on a hand-held phone can bring a citation, but in some states the citation is classified as a violation that doesn’t appear on a driving record and doesn’t lead to costlier insurance.

The citation is noted on driving records in states with harsher enforcement of distracted driving laws, but how the violation is treated depends on the insurer.

In the report recently published by Celent, the research firm previews how growing technologies will cut into the number of crashes and discusses the likely changes in an industry with fewer customers who need insurance.

Companies will see “a large reduction in their revenue as automobile insurance premiums drop,” authors stated in their report.

The trend of fewer crashes is already under way, with preliminary estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing that traffic fatalities in 2011 dropped 1.7 percent from the previous year. If projections hold, the number fatalities in 2011 will be at the lowest level since the NHTSA began keeping records in 1949. The previous low record of fatal crashes was posted in 2010, when there was a 2.9 percent decline from the number of fatalities in 2009.

And between 1991 and 2009, the volume of all crashes reported in the U.S. declined by an average of about 0.54 percent per year.

Celent goes further with its predictions in the report, subtitled “What Happens When There are (Almost) No Accidents.”

“The scenario is plausible because most of the technologies on which it depends are already available—and to some extent are already in use,” stated the report’s authors, who focused on telematics, collision avoidance, automated traffic law enforcement and autonomous driving as the four technologies that will “underpin the scenario.”

Vehicle telematics, a term describing information technology that records driving data, has the strongest presence in the current market, according to Celent, which predicted in its report that the technology becomes “mandated during the next five years.”

Also, automated traffic law enforcement and collision avoidance measures are expected to be mandated some time between 2018 and 2022.

But self-automated vehicles “have a longer way to go,” the report stated.

“Reliable, mass-produced [robot cars] are 5 to 10 years away, followed by preferred used in 2023 to 2027.”

Consumers wondering how much does car insurance cost when these technologies reduce the number of crashes will be happy to read Celent’s premium forecasts over the next decade.

According to the report, private passenger auto and commercial auto liability premiums will decrease between 2013 and 2017 by 20 percent from 2012 levels. Between 2018 and 2022, premiums will have decreased by 60 percent.

For physical damage premiums, Celent forecasts drops of 30 percent and 80 percent, for the respective time periods.

The report predicts that the drop in premium cost will be larger in 2018-2022 because “the most powerful loss reduction technologies”—traffic law enforcement and collision avoidance technologies—are expected to take full effect during that time.

As “the top line and bottom lines for auto insurance diminishes over the course of the scenario,” the sea change in the industry will force insurers to change how they market themselves, handle claims, sell, distribute and service their policies, develop products, maintain underwriting levels and collect data, according to the report.

The report’s authors said that, among the changes, they expect agent commissions and claims activity to drop along with the number of crashes and the size of premiums.

The full report can be found at Celent’s website.