Auto

When U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced that Americans drove 10 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007, she was sounding the alarm.

Claims involving only the breakage of vehicle glass, without corresponding collision damage, have long been considered a nuisance in claim operations for many major insurance carriers.

Martin Bullen, a worker for Romans International, a luxury car supplier based in Surrey, U.K., was driving a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano to a repair shop when something went horribly wrong.

"Telematics and event data recorders (EDR) should be on every insurer's radar," said research and consulting firm Celent.

So, what's your sign? Finally, the phrase can function as a bona fide conversation starter instead of the eye-roll inducing standby of many a lounge lothario.

Those who steer claimants to specific auto shops can land themselves and their companies in a heap of trouble.