Latest Carriers Headlines

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

Va. Republicans Sue Insurer for $1M Cost of Eavesdropping Scandal

Jul 27 2005 // The Republican Party of Virginia is suing its liability insurance carrier, seeking nearly $1 million in reimbursement for the GOP’s payout to settle a lawsuit over the eavesdropping scandal and attorneys’ fees...

South Carolina Insurance Company, Consolidated American Insurance Liquidations Continue

Jul 27 2005 // Liquidation efforts are continuing for two companies, South Carolina Insurance Company and the Consolidated American Insurance Company, according to South Carolina’s Special Deputy Liquidator J. Smith Harrison...

NAMIC Questions “Black Box” Laws in N.D., Other States

Jul 26 2005 // Provisions in laws regulating event data recorders (EDRs or auto “black boxes”) could negatively impact the underwriting prerogatives of auto insurers, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies...

U.S. and Japan Insurers Propose International Accounting Standards

Jul 25 2005 // Leading U.S. life and property/casualty insurance and reinsurance companies and the four largest life insurance companies in Japan have jointly advanced a draft of basic insurance accounting principles that recognize the...

Study Shows 15 Insurers Contributed to Controversial 2002 Texas Election

Jul 25 2005 // Insurance companies that were fighting tighter state regulations were major corporate donors to a business lobby group’s mail campaign that helped Republicans take control of the Legislature in the 2002 elections,...

Neb. Man Paralyzed in Crash Loses Fight With Insurer

Jul 25 2005 // A man paralyzed in a crash with a Scotts Bluff County, Neb., sheriff’s cruiser that also killed his fiancee lost his fight to get money from the county’s insurance company, according to the Associated...

Survey Says: Myths About the Cost of Auto Insurance Persist

Jul 25 2005 // The color of a car influences how much it costs to insure it, Comprehensive coverage protects drivers in all situations because, after all, it’s “comprehensive,” and car insurance companies can charge...

Ohio Investigates Bid-Rigging Among Insurers, Brokers

Jul 25 2005 // The Ohio Department of Insurance is investigating allegations that brokers across the state are engaging in bid-rigging and undisclosed commission arrangements with insurance companies, the Associated Press reported. The...

Australian Insurers Adopt New Practice Code, Raising Consumer Expectations

Jul 25 2005 // A recently-launched new Code of Practice for the Australian insurance industry will mean general insurers will meet higher, measurable performance standards for dealing with customers, including settling claims in specific...

Canadian Auto Insurers, Consumer Group Clash Over Ontario Premiums

Jul 24 2005 // Canada’s auto insurers are disputing a recent study that showed Ontario drivers’ auto insurance rates are as much as 45 percent higher than those for British Columbia motorists. The Insurance Bureau of Canada...

U.S. Firms Prevail as Court Denies British Insurer’s Scheme to Curtail Liabilities Yet Remain Solvent

Jul 22 2005 // London insurance companies facing asbestos, pollution and other long-tail liabilities to U.S. policyholders that resort to so-called “solvent schemes” to cut off claims and avoid liquidation have been dealt a...

Missouri Employers Mutual Joins Trusted Choice

Jul 22 2005 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America announced that Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance (MEM), based in Columbia, Mo., has joined a growing number of leading carriers that are participating in the...

Delaware Commissioner Wants To Publicize Complaints Against Insurers

Jul 21 2005 // Delawareans would be able to evaluate insurance companies based on the number and kinds of valid complaints made against them by their customers under a new system proposed by Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matthew...

Insurer Exec Scheiber Named to Head S.D. Insurance Division

Jul 20 2005 // A Sioux Falls insurance executive has been appointed as the new director of the South Dakota Division of Insurance, the Argus Leader reported. Merle Scheiber will take over on Aug. 18 after departing his current position...

Greenspan: Private Insurers Can’t Cover Terror Risk Without Government

Jul 20 2005 // Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan again testified that he believes that private insurers alone can’t handle the risk of losses resulting from terrorist attacks. In testimony before the House Financial Services...

Citing N.H. Med-Mal Market as Non-Competitive, Analyst Urges Prior Approval of Future Rates

Jul 19 2005 // The malpractice insurance market for doctors, hospitals and other medical professionals in New Hampshire is lacking competition such that a law allowing the insurance commissioner to approve any future rate hikes should be...

News Currents

Jul 18 2005 // Two Industry Opposed Bills Die in California Legislature California’s SB 46 and SB 603 both died in the Legislature in late June, allowing insurers to breathe a little easy-for now. SB 46, authored by Sen. Richard...

A Consumer View on Loss-History Databases

Jul 18 2005 // Thanks to the leadership of Commissioner Jim Poolman, North Dakota insurance consumers now have common-sense protections against unfair underwriting and rating actions by insurers because of information in loss history...

MORE CHOICES IN HOMEOWNERS MARKET

Jul 18 2005 // The market for homeowners insurance in Louisiana is expanding, according to Associated Press and New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. More companies are apparently writing policies, and those that already were in the state...

Opinion: Rare Calif. Policy Success Tries to Survive

Jul 18 2005 // This month new workers’ compensation insurance rates went into effect in California. And thanks to reforms championed early on by State Sen. Charles Poochigian and Assemblyman Abel Maldonado, and later pushed by Gov....