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New York Hearings on ?Forced? Insurance in Foreclosure
Premiums for so-called force-placed insurance have more than tripled since 2004, producing enormous profits for insurers and the banks that take out policies when a homeowner fails to maintain coverage required by the mortgage, according to New York regulators. In …
N.Y. Compensation Insurance Rating Board Seeks 11.5% Rate Hike
The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) has submitted to the Department of Financial Services on Thursday a loss-cost filing for an overall average loss cost change of +11.5 percent. The change in loss cost represents the anticipated cost …
Court: Louisiana Cab Company President not Liable in Death Case
A court has ruled that the head of a Bossier City, La., taxi cab business cannot be held personally liable in a lawsuit over the death of a 12-year-old boy. The victim in the case was Justin Bloxom, whose body …
Dean, Hanner, Richardson Named Corporate VPs at Arthur J. Gallagher
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has appointed Eric C. Dean, Jerome S. Hanner and Cara Richardson as corporate vice presidents. Dean joined the company in 2012 and has more than 30 years of business experience in various key technology functions. …
A Year after Joplin Tornadoes, $2.16B in Insurance Claims Paid
The tornado that swept through Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, has generated $2.16 billion in insurance claims payouts to Missouri policyholders, according to an Insurance Information Institute analysis of data from ISO’s Property Claims Service (PCS) and other sources. …
Despite Grant, South Dakota Will Wait on Health Insurance Exchange
South Dakota has been awarded a $5.9 million federal grant to continue research into the possibility of a state-run health insurance exchange. But Gov. Dennis Daugaard says the state will continue to wait for the outcome of the lawsuit challenging …
Family Sues California Mortuary Over Switched Bodies
A family is suing a mortuary over a body switch that resulted in a grandmother being buried in another woman’s clothes in a California cemetery instead of an above-ground crypt in Nicaragua. The lawsuit filed Wednesday by the 88-year-old woman’s …
North Dakota Agent Accused of Creating Fake Policy Applications
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm announced he has served a cease and desist order against Tim Everett, a Grand Forks area insurance agent who is alleged to have created fictitious insurance policy applications and to have been paid commissions …
Crop Damage in Central California From Storm Tops $79M
San Joaquin Valley’s crop damage estimate from a hail storm last month has reached more than $79 million. The Fresno Bee reports that Kings County, among the hardest hit areas of the region, recently increased its damage estimate from $20 …
Louisiana Citizens Approved for $75M Line of Credit
Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort has gotten permission to secure a $75 million cash line of credit in case a hurricane damages the state. The Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has enough money set aside to cover a $110 …
SullivanCurtisMonroe Adds Kraatz as EVP in Southern California
Irvine, Calif.-based SullivanCurtisMonroe named Shawn Kraatz as executive vice president in its Irvine office. His primary responsibilities at SCM will include commercial sales management and marketplace leadership. Kraatz joins SCM from Alliant, where he was first vice president. He has …
Houston?s Dean & Draper Recognized for Technology Best Practices
Houston-based Dean & Draper Insurance Agency has been recognized by the Network of Vertafore Users (NetVU) for employing technology best practices that enhance productivity, simplify processes and improve customer service outreach. The 2012 Automation Excellence Award was bestowed during the …
Health Insurance Exchange Rejected by Louisiana Senators
A proposal that would have set up a body of elected and appointed officials to craft the health insurance exchanges that anchor President Barack Obama’s health overhaul has failed to gain traction in the Louisiana Senate. The Senate Finance Committee …
Insurance Trades Join Suit Against Oregon?s MVR Fee Increase
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America have joined a lawsuit filed this week against the Oregon Departments of Administrative Services and Transportation to block the recently approved fee increase for motor …
Northern United Agents Alliance in N.H. Expands, Adding 2 New Agencies
The Northern United Agents Alliance (NUAA), an independent agency partnership based in New Hampshire, added two new agency members. The new members are: Maloney Associates Insurance in Hanover, N.H., and Bernier Insurance Agency in Rochester, N.H. Maloney Associates Insurance was …
Vermont Governor Shumlin Signs Health ?Exchange? Bill
Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed into law the next step in a multi-year effort to revamp Vermont’s health care system and make it more like Canada’s. The bill Shumlin signed on Wednesday calls for setting up a regulated health care …
Vermont Becomes First State in U.S. to Ban Hydraulic Fracturing
Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday signed into law the nation’s first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground. The Democrat, surrounded at a Statehouse ceremony by environmentalists and Twinfield …
N.J. Police Chief Is Convicted of Insurance Fraud, Faces Prison Term
Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa faces up to 45 years in prison after a jury convicted him of insurance fraud and official misconduct. After deliberating three days, the panel on Wednesday found Zisa filed a false insurance report and became …
Florida?s Citizens Defends Plan to Consider Higher Rates on New Business
Facing protests from consumers and state officials, Florida’s state-run homeowners insurer has found itself defending a proposal to increase rates for new customers above a legislative cap placed on current business. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. officials floated the proposal last …
Court Tosses Workplace Retaliation Damages Suit Against Mississippi College
A federal appeals court has ruled for Hinds Community College in a workplace retaliation case. In 2010, a Mississippi federal judge ordered the school to pay a former professor $345,020 after a federal jury found she had been the victim …
Tackling Euro Zone Crisis is Top Priority for G8 Leaders
Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency. President Barack Obama, the …
XL Group Names Whelley Executive VP- Chief for Human Resources
XL Group plc announced the appointment of Eileen Whelley as Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, effective June 18, 2012. She succeeds Elizabeth L. Reeves, who is retiring. Whelley has been Executive Vice President, Human Resources for The Hartford …
China Broker CNinsure Announces Changes to Board of Directors
CNinsure Inc. an independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, announced that the board of directors of the Company has appointed Yunxiang Tang as an independent director of the Board and Yongwei Ma has resigned from the Board following the …
Former Dewey & LeBoeuf Lawyers Join DLA Piper Hong Kong Office
The DLA Piper law firm announced that a group of lawyers led by partners Joyce Chan and Heng Loong Cheong will join its Hong Kong office from Dewey & LeBoeuf. The move signals yet another step in the meltdown of …
Willis? DARCstar D&O Program Marks First Year with New Offerings
To mark the anniversary, May 18, 2012, of its DARCstar Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance coverage, Willis Group Holdings has introduced a new improved version of the form, and has launched two new products in the DARCstar stable: “prospectus liability …
South Carolina Son Follows in Father?s Safety Footsteps
Dwain Fogle believes in taking an extra minute to make sure safety is first in his job as a rural mail carrier, a lesson he learned from his father who spent 41 years in the same profession. As a rural …
OSHA Probes Florida Postal Worker?s Mysterious Illness
The federal agency that monitors worker safety has opened an investigation into the illness of a U.S. postal worker who became sick after coming into contact with a mysterious package from Yemen. A spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health …
Forecasters Examine Hurricane Andrew?s Legacy
The ability to predict how bad a storm will be has eluded forecasters since Hurricane Andrew made a catastrophic landfall in South Florida two decades ago and it will remain a challenge for the next chief at the National Hurricane …
Safety Inspections Don?t Hurt Businesses; Do Lower Workers? Comp Costs: Study
Random inspections of U.S. industrial workplaces lower the risk of workers being injured on the job and have no measurable negative effect on the companies inspected, according to a study in the journal Science. Companies chosen for random inspections by …
Judge: New York AG Must Decide on Revealing Spitzer?s Emails on AIG
New York’s Attorney General must review his predecessor’s private emails relating to a probe of American International Group Inc. and decide whether to release them to the public, a state judge has ruled. The office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman …