European Parliament Backs New Rules For Insurance Sector

European Parliament Backs New Rules For Insurance Sector Wall Street Journal - USA BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Backing from the European Parliament Wednesday for an overhaul of the European insurance industry paves the way for the new Solvency ... See all stories on this topic Insurance for the underwater house San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA But if you could get insurance for your underwater house, you might be able to stem the losses. That's what Andrey Pavlov is pitching, anyway. ... See all stories on this topic Affordable Health Insurance for Young Adults U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA We offer healthcare coverage advice for 8 different situations By Megan Johnson Health insurance, if you're young, cash strapped, and healthy, ... See all stories on this topic TARP the Life Insurers? This Is Nuts ParamusPost.com - Paramus,NJ,USA According to a bunch of front-page news stories, life-insurance companies are about to get TARPed. This is nuts. The public is clamoring for an end to TARP ... See all stories on this topic Iowa House Approves Narrower Health Insurance Bill Kaiser network.org - Washington,DC,USA The Iowa House voted 92-3 on Monday to approve a narrower version of health insurance legislation that would establish a panel to make recommendations to ... See all stories on this topic AM Best: To Comment On AIG Plans For Property/Casualty Ops Wall Street Journal - USA By Lavonne Kuykendall Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Insurance company rating agency AM Best Co. said it plans to weigh in later Tuesday on ... See all stories on this topic A Quick Guide to Health Insurance Lingo U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA By Megan Johnson Health insurance has its own language. You might want to print out these terms and definitions, adapted from a guide published by the ... See all stories on this topic EP Approves New Regulations on Insurance Companies CRIENGLISH.com - Beijing,China The European Parliament approved on Wednesday a proposed Directive aimed at lowering cost in monitoring multinational insurance companies. ... See all stories on this topic 'Solvency II': European Parliament approval of proposed Directive ... 7thSpace Interactive (press release) - New York,NY,USA The European Commission has welcomed the European Parliament's approval of the proposed Directive on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance ... See all stories on this topic Three arrested for insurance fraud Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA Three South Floridians who allegedly ran an identity theft ring are under arrest, charged with filing fraudulent insurance claims, according to a news ... See all stories on this topic

Small Cars Rate Poorly in New Crash Tests

When a Smart Fortwo collided with a Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, in new crash tests done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the little Smart car went airborne and did what amounted to a pirouette. The news was not much better when the institute crashed a Honda Fit into a Honda Accord, and a Toyota Yaris into a Toyota Camry.

Officials at the institute, which is financed by the insurance industry, said people pretty much know they aren’t going to fare well if a Fortwo tangles with a Hummer. That’s why the organization used midsize cars in these tests — to show that very small cars will be the losers in crashes, even with slightly bigger vehicles.

The small cars were 2009 models that had earlier received ratings of “good” on the institute’s standard frontal offset crash tests (the organization rates on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal and poor). The results from the latest tests, however, were far different — so different, in fact, that the Fit, Fortwo and Yaris got “poor” ratings.

Intrusion into the Fit’s occupant compartment was “extensive,” officials said, which meant a high risk of leg injury. Also, the dummy’s head struck the steering wheel through the airbag.

After it struck the front of the C-Class, the Smart became airborne and turned around 450 degrees. There was excessive movement of the dummy during rebound and extensive intrusion into the space around the dummy from head to foot. The instrument panel and the steering wheel were shoved up and toward the dummy in the Smart.

The door of the Yaris was largely torn away. The driver’s seats in both the Yaris and Camry tipped forward, but only in the Yaris did the steering wheel move excessively. The heads of the dummies in both cars struck the steering wheels through the airbags, but only in the Yaris did the head injury measure rate a “poor.”