RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Average premiums rose nearly 1 percent nationally, insurers reported huge losses compared with 2010, Massachusetts enacted a ban on insurance-scoring for auto coverage, and New York and Pennsylvania both stepped up penalties for texting while driving. The following summary sheet recaps some of the month's most significant auto insurance news developments covered by News.OnlineAutoInsurance.com :

• The latest Consumer Price Index report posted at http://www.bls.gov/ showed the average price of coverage rose 0.8 percent between September and October. The average premium in October 2011 was 2.9 percent higher than in October 2010.
• A whole host of insurers reported plummeting year-over-year third-quarter profits. They include Mercury (down 104 percent), The Harftord (down 100 percent), Liberty Mutual (down 120 percent) and Infinity (down 80 percent).
• New York officials reminded motorists that they have increased the fine for violating the no-texting law and that offenders who flout the ban will get three points on their driving records instead of two (the previous penalty). Texting while driving in the Empire State has also been made a primary offense, resulting in a huge spike in citations.
• Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law a ban on insurance-scoring in the state. The law fortifies an already existing regulatory ban on auto insurers' use of policyholders' credit history to help assess risk and set rates.
• Officials at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reported drivers of hybrids have been seeing better collision claims records than their gas-only counterparts. On the flip side, the HLDI also found that hybrid drivers "may be as much as 20 percent more likely" to hit a pedestrian.
• State Farm announced it will soon be cutting premiums in Pennsylvania by an average of 1.3 percent.
• North Carolina regulators confirmed that Allstate has sent nonrenewal notices to tens of thousands of residential property policyholders who do not also have car coverage with the company. Regulators also said the move is legal as long as the insurer gives proper notice to policyholders.

To read the articles about these and other industry- and consumer-related news developments, readers should head to http://news.onlineautoinsurance.com/ to check out the only site on the Web devoted to publishing nothing but the latest news in the U.S. car insurance industry.

SOURCE Online Auto Insurance, LLC