
Car owners may soon find it more difficult to find cheaper car insurance if the plans of two major research bodies to upgrade their safety ratings take effect. Since auto insurance companies base premiums primarily on risk, tougher safety ratings can have negative effects on most car models’ assessment. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS is the insurance industry’s main safety research arm. It is responsible for testing how safe cars are and for setting the safety standards. Insurance providers rely heavily on the findings of the IIHS. At present, the institute’s rating system has three major levels, … (more) August 31, 2009