What’s New: In Brief (November 10, 2009)

The 2010 Subaru Legacy is the first car tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to earn damage estimates under US$1,000 for all four of the institute’s bumper tests.
“Bumpers that don’t bump,” resulting in costly damage in what should be minor crashes, are the norm for cars evaluated in IIHS’s low-speed tests, the institute said.
Earlier models of the Legacy earned poor ratings in the tests.
The main difference is that the 2010 Legacy’s front reinforcement bar is a little taller, more than six inches wider, and more than an inch-and-a-half higher off the ground. This kept the car’s bumper engaged with the barrier during the test, preventing it from sliding under the barrier. Plus the bumper bar extends to the corners to help protect headlights and fenders.
 “Compared with the new model, the 2007 Legacy sustained nearly five times as much damage in one six-mile-hr impact,” said IIHS vice president Joe Nolan.

U.S. commercial property and casualty composite rates declined 5% in October 2009, compared to a 4% decrease in October 2008, signalling that the end of the soft market is still not in sight, reports MarketScout.
For the past 21 months, U.S. commercial property and casualty composite rates have been “progressively moderating,” MarketScout said.
During this time, MarketScout has “consistently measured rates either down, or at least flat on a month-to-month comparison.”
The October rate reversal does not bode well for those looking forward to the end of the soft market, it adds.
By industry class, manufacturing accounts experienced the most aggressive rate reductions, down 6%.