Wildfires in California have caused insured losses of more than $3.3 billion, based on claims reported by 15 insurers, and the figure will rise, the California Department of Insurance said on Tuesday.

OEM and insurer telematics first notice of loss systems will soon reduce the volume seen by uncertified collision repairers, Certified Collision Group CEO Bruce Bares predicted Thursday. Bares said both OEMs and insurers will roll out the telematics to detect a crash and try to sell the customer on a shop within their network — but both entities will only push OEM-certified repairers.

At least four people died in accidents on roads left slippery by the first significant snowstorm of the season to strike Minnesota.

At least three children were killed and six other people were critically injured after a driver in a pickup truck slammed into a horse-drawn buggy early Sunday in central Michigan, officials said.

A storm left almost 600,000 homes and businesses across the Northeast without power early Monday. National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said there were reports of downed trees around the region and roads that were impassable in spots due to flash flooding.

A Florida man was convicted by a federal jury in Richmond on Wednesday in a 15-year insurance fraud scheme involving at least 27 fires in Richmond, Henrico County and Florida. Four co-defendants earlier pleaded guilty in the case.

Insured property losses from wildfires that raged through Northern California wine country this month, killing at least 42 people and destroying thousands of businesses and homes, could total $2 billion to $3 billion, a risk-modeling firm said on Thursday.

Flash flooding in Boone caused major damage to units in at least three different apartment complexes along Cedar Creek near Meadowview. The area is between the Boone Mall and the Walmart shopping areas. Dozens of cars at the units and at Walmart were inundated by the water.

When you bring in your recalled car to get a safety defect fixed, you might assume that the problem has been remedied. Yet owners of more than 342,000 previously recalled Kia Soul vehicles are finding out that their cars need to have the same issue repaired again.

A concept car equipped with external airbags to protect against fender benders is raising eyebrows at the Tokyo Motor Show. The body panels of the Flesby II ultra-compact vehicle are covered by a soft, next-generation rubber that can absorb the impact of a collision.

Severe weather is threatening 30 million people across the Northeast. A powerful line of storms is expected to bring heavy rain, wind, and flooding. The system already has battered the Carolinas and parts of Virginia. Intense wind flipped planes and crumpled hangars at a small airport northwest of Charlotte.

An Uber driver had a close call in Bethpage Tuesday, as he found his car stuck on the railroad tracks just as a Long Island Rail Road train was heading his way.

The California Department of Insurance has released an estimate for the damages left behind by the catastrophic wildfires that have left historic damages in the state. The department believes the insured wildfires losses will reach at least $1.05 billion.

Lloyd’s has revised its net claims estimates for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to a combined US$3.9 billion, plus a preliminary claims estimate for Hurricane Maria of US$0.9 billion.

Jennifer Smith doesn’t like the term "accident." It implies too much chance and too little culpability. A "crash" killed her mother in 2008, she insists, when her car was broadsided by another vehicle while on her way to pick up cat food.