With prom season fast approaching, Amica Insurance is issuing a reminder to high school students (and their parents) that car crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among American teens. And, with the period between prom and graduation season accounting for as many as one-third of all teen traffic fatalities, this time of year can be one of the most dangerous for young drivers.

According to a recent study from USAA, soldiers returning home from deployment are 13 percent more likely to be involved in an at-fault accident. USAA reviewed data from over 150,000 soldiers who’d returned from deployment between 2007 and 2010 and found that although the risk of an accident dropped back to normal within about six months, the initial spike in collisions involving recently returned soldiers was surprisingly high.

According to a new report from eQuoteDirect, there are a lot of drivers out there who don’t care about other people’s parked cars. The company estimates that 1 in 6 drivers who collide with someone else’s parked car wouldn’t leave a note with their insurance information under any circumstances and approximately 45 percent would only consider it if the damage looked serious. As a result, careless parking could be contributing to as much as £1.3 million worth of damage per year.

Today is Friday the 13th, a date considered to be unlucky among the more superstitious and horror movie-loving folks. But is the day really bad or are we just largely overreacting? The Telegraph cites a medical study that suggests Friday the 13th does see a dramatic spike in accidents. Better have that insurance info nearby just in case...at least until midnight, anyway.

20 years ago, insuring a male teen driver was twice as expensive as insuring a female driver of the same age, but the times they are a-changin’. Over the past several years, insurance premiums for teen girls have risen by about $500 while premiums for males have remained stagnant. Now, the cost of insuring a female teen driver is only about 25 percent less expensive than insuring a male.

Following an accident on December 3^rd that led to the loss of her left eye and left hand, 23-year-old model and fashion blogger Lauren Scruggs has agreed on a settlement with Aggressive Insurance Services. The terms of the settlement are unknown, but an initial offer in the amount of $200,000 was rejected by Scruggs, who was contesting her status as a “passenger” at the time of the accident. 

It might be halftime in America, but Detroit’s still getting its ass kicked. A recent report estimates that 1.5 million Michigan drivers do not have insurance, putting them in serious financial risk if they happen to get in an accident.

GJEL, a Bay Area law firm specializing in auto accidents, recently published an article questioning whether or not insurance companies have the ability to influence distracted drivers. The post suggests that insurance companies could add a clause denying coverage to anyone who gets in an accident while using their cell phone, thus providing a massive deterrent to would be distracted drivers.