Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Unistar Charter to Be Sold;Lawsuit Action Heats Up
Sep 25 2000 // Plans are underway for Unistar Insurance Co.’s charter to be sold to Agricultural Workers Mutual Auto Insurance Co., a 52-year-old mutual based in Fort Worth for $50,000. Negotiation of the sale began in the weeks...
Crop Insurance Investigated
Sep 22 2000 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies are investigating claims that farmers in Darke and other Ohio and Indiana counties are conspiring with insurance agents to defraud the federal crop insurance...
Kelso Issues Cease & Desist Order to Winters Group
Sep 18 2000 // A Cease & Desist Order, issued by acting California Insurance Commissioner J. Clark Kelso, was served Aug. 30 on the Winters, Calif.-based Puget’s Sound Agricultural Society Ltd. (aka: Jesus Christ...
Old Guard Group Shareholders Approve Acquisition by Ohio Farmers
Sep 13 2000 // Old Guard Group, Inc. has received shareholder approval for its acquisition by Ohio Farmers Insurance Company. With more than 71% of the outstanding stock voting, 92% were voted in favor of the transaction. The transaction...
S&P Takes Rating Actions on Farmers Group and
Aug 14 2000 // Standard & Poor’s removed from CreditWatch and affirmed its ratings on Farmers Group Inc. (FGI) and the interactively rated members of the Farmers Insurance Exchange Intercompany Pool (Farmers). These ratings...
Farmers Ins. to Close Maryland Phone Center, Eliminate 114 Jobs
Aug 4 2000 // Farmers Insurance Group will close an insurance call center in Timonium, Maryland by the end of this year, a company official said. The move, done for financial reasons according to Carol Siegfried, Farmers’...
IGF Offers Online Crop Insurance Quoting Service
Jul 31 2000 // WebQuote users are guided through a step-by-step process that lets them select the insurance plans they are considering for crops in their local area or anywhere in the United States. The new online quoting system is...
FEMA Study Predicts Massive Coastal Erosion
Jul 10 2000 // One out of every four houses within 500 feet of the U.S. shoreline will become a casualty of erosion within the next 60 years. This hard-hitting fact is among many included in the report, Evaluation of Erosion Hazards,...
Farmers Ins. Group Gets ‘A+’
Jul 10 2000 // The financial strength rating of the Farmers Insurance Group was upgraded from ‘A’ to ‘A+’ by A.M. Best. The upgrade is applicable to the 18 members which comprise the group.
Iowa Co. Settles With Rice Farmers
Jul 6 2000 // American Agrisurance Inc has agreed to a $3.7 million settlement with rice farmers from around the country who accused the company of reneging on a price agreement. Previously, the company, based in Council Bluffs, Iowa,...
Farmers Insurance Upgraded to A+
Jun 26 2000 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating of the Farmers Insurance Group to A+ from A. The rating applies to the 18 members of the group and acknowledges Farmers Insurance Group as a core and integral...
Clinton Signs Law for $7.1 Billion in Farm Aid
Jun 21 2000 // The bill, now law, also restructures federal crop insurance to make it cheaper for growers to buy policies. The package provides for American farmers to receive an average $3,750. The first round of payments, $5.5 billion...
TEAMING UP FOR AGRIBIZ
Jun 12 2000 // Zurich U.S. and The Hartford Financial Services Group formed a strategic relationship to co-market their agribusiness products in a program designed to take advantage of each compaies strengths. Under the agreement, which...
Farmers Offers Loss Reporting Via the Internet
Jun 2 2000 // Once a Farmers customer accesses the Claims web page, they will be able to enter information such as their policy number, details surrounding the loss, where they can be contacted and the best time for Farmers to contact...
Zurich U.S., The Hartford Forge Strategic Agribusiness Alliance
Jun 1 2000 // Zurich U.S. and The Hartford Financial Services Group have formed a strategic relationship to co-market their agribusiness products in a program designed to take advantage of each company’s unique strengths. Under...
Congress Approves $7.1 Billion Farm Bailout
May 26 2000 // A $7.1 billion bailout for American farmers hurt by depressed crop prices was approved Thursday by Congress. If approved by President Clinton, as is expected, the bill would make federal crop insurance cheaper and easier...
Farm Aid Deal Reached; Final Vote Any Day
May 25 2000 // Congressional negotiators on Wednesday agreed on a $15 billion farm assistance package that would cut the cost of crop insurance and compensate growers for a third consecutive year of low commodity prices. The package also...
IIAA Hails Appellate Court’s Crop Insurance Ruling
May 18 2000 // In a significant victory for independent agents, a federal appellate court yesterday unanimously affirmed a lower-court decision that overturned an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) ruling permitting national...
International Commmentary
May 15 2000 // China, PNTR and WTOÐPart II What is the Chinese Market? The Western world has long had an ongoing fascination with China’s enormous population-1.2 billion and counting. Corporate leaders fantasize that, if only 10...
Lawsuit Against Farmers Given Class Action Status in Oregon
May 12 2000 // Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Harl H. Haas granted class-action certification on May 10 to a $5-million lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon. The suit, which was filed by attorney Richard Yugler, a...
