Latest Business Insurance Headlines

All the headlines from our Business Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Small Business Ain’t ‘Bean Bag’

Nov 21 2005 // American small-business owners understand all too well that politics is a challenging and often demanding sport. Nevertheless, they exhibited the optimism so prevalent in entrepreneurs, agreeing overwhelmingly that if good...

Competition Increases in Commercial Auto, But Not Too Much–Yet

Nov 21 2005 // By most accounts the commercial auto insurance market nationally is stable to softening. Rates may be going down a little in some areas, staying the same or at least not going up very much in others. However, some pockets...

Tracking Commercial Autos

Nov 21 2005 // Before you can finish saying “Beam me up, Scotty,” chances are a tiny transmitter is bouncing a signal off a satellite somewhere in space, indicating that your insured’s taxi is stowed in the hold of a...

Mobile Equipment or Commercial Auto?

Nov 21 2005 // Watch out! That mobile drilling unit you assume is covered under your insured’s commercial general liability policy as a piece of mobile equipment actually could be a commercial vehicle, according to the insurance...

New Definitions: Mobile Equipment or Commercial Auto?

Nov 21 2005 // Watch out! That mobile drilling unit you assume is covered under your insured’s commercial general liability policy as a piece of mobile equipment could be considered a commercial vehicle according to the insurance...

Torts Drive Commercial Auto in Heartland, Elsewhere

Nov 20 2005 // Insurers like writing commercial auto business, and most lines of business, in the Midwestern states because of market stability and a favorable legislative and regulatory climate. But even in this typically stable line of...

Mobile Equipment or Commercial Auto?

Nov 20 2005 // Watch out! That mobile drilling unit you assume is covered under your insured’s commercial general liability policy as a piece of mobile equipment actually could be a commercial vehicle, according to the insurance...

New Definitions: Mobile Equipment or Commercial Auto?

Nov 20 2005 // Watch out! That mobile drilling unit you assume is covered under your insured’s commercial general liability policy as a piece of mobile equipment could be considered a commercial vehicle according to the insurance...

Top 25 Commercial Auto Writers

Nov 20 2005 // Company Name 2004* 2005** 12/31/2004 6/30/2005 State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. 964,544 159,665 St Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. 654,788 46,260 Zurich American Insurance Co. 630,760 170,012 Auto-Owners...

Competition Increases in Commercial Auto, But Not Too Much-Yet

Nov 20 2005 // By most accounts the commercial auto insurance market nationally is stable to softening. Rates may be going down a little in some areas, staying the same or at least not going up very much in others. However, some pockets...

General Electric Exits Insurance; Sells Insurance Solutions, Employers Re to Swiss Re

Nov 18 2005 // General Electric has agreed to sell most of its Insurance Solutions business, including Employers Reinsurance Corp., to Swiss Re for $6.8 billion. It will retain some life insurance business. The transaction is subject to...

Safeco Automates Sales for Mid-Market Commercial Accounts

Nov 18 2005 // Seattle-based Safeco has announced it has fully automated the sale of commercial insurance packages to more than 800 classes of small- and mid-sized businesses. In 16 states and the District of Columbia, independent agents...

Survey Shows Minn. Workplace Injuries Continue to Decline

Nov 17 2005 // A recent Minnesota workplace survey shows the state’s injury and illness rate decreased by 3.6 percent in 2004, following an 8.3 percent decrease in 2003. A total of 105,500 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses...

Employers, Employees Could Be Hurt by Disability Income Insurance Changes, Study Says

Nov 15 2005 // Proposed changes in the regulation of disability income insurance in California could significantly increase the cost of coverage and discourage some injured employees from returning to work, according to a study released...

Oxnard, Calif. State Fund Office Offers Employer Safety Seminar

Nov 15 2005 // As part of State Fund’s ongoing educational program to create safe workplaces and update employers on new workers’ compensation insurance rules, its Oxnard District Office will hold a free safety seminar on...

RI3K to Expand Service Platform to Commercial Lines

Nov 9 2005 // London-based RI3K has announced that by the end of this month it will expand its electronic trading platform services to certain commercial lines. The company said it will initially handle International Property, North...

Maine Employers Mutual Rewards Employers with $4 Million in Dividends

Nov 8 2005 // This week, Maine’s largest workers’ compensation insurer Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) is mailing $4 million in dividends to its policyholders for performance in 2002. More than 19,500...

Safeco Automating Sales Process for Mid-Market Commercial

Nov 8 2005 // Safeco announced it is one of the first insurance companies to fully automate the sale of commercial insurance packages to more than 800 classes of small- and mid-sized businesses. In 16 states and the District of...

EPLI for Small Employers

Nov 7 2005 // Nuts & Bolts: Rockwood Programs, through the Rockwood Guardian EPLI Risk Purchasing Group, has developed an employment practices liability insurance policy for small employers. Companies with 15 or fewer employees are...

Study Says 8 in 10 American Small Businesses Not Ready for Disaster

Nov 2 2005 // In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and, most recently, Wilma, 79% of American small businesses say they do not have a disaster recovery plan in place, according to a new study from the International Profit Associates...