Latest Claims Headlines
All the headlines from our Claims Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Chrysler Agrees to Accept ‘Old’ Chrysler Product Liability Claims
Aug 28 2009 // In a letter sent members of Congress, the new Chrysler Group said it will accept product liability claims on vehicles it manufactured before it emerged from bankruptcy on June 10 with government assistance. The move is a...
Florida, Georgia Insurer First Commercial to Be Liquidated
Aug 26 2009 // Miami-based First Commercial Insurance Co. and its subsidiary have been declared insolvent and ordered liquidated about six weeks after being placed under state control. All policies written by FCIC and its subsidiary,...
P&I Clubs Must Overcome Investment Addiction Says Aon Report
Aug 25 2009 // In a new report Aon suggests that P&I [ Protection & Indemnity] clubs only “need to increase premiums by 0-7.5 percent despite the surge in high value claims in 2006 and 2007 and the steep decline in...
U.S. Courts Rejects California Law on Insurance Claims for Armenians
Aug 24 2009 // A federal appeals court invalidated a California law Thursday that allowed heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago to seek payment on the life insurance policies of dead relatives. The...
State Auto Appoints Hunckler Chief Claims Officer
Aug 19 2009 // Stephen P. Hunckler has joined Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Insurance Companies as chief claims officer. He succeeds John Melvin, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Hunckler was most recently executive vice...
Florida Activates Claims Hotline for Tropical Storm Claudette Victims
Aug 17 2009 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink today announced that the state storm line has been activated to assist Floridians whose homes, businesses or vehicles were damaged by Tropical Storm Claudette as it passed through...
Gainsco Reports Income Increase in Q2 2009 Results
Aug 14 2009 // Dallas-based Gainsco Inc. announced net income for the second quarter 2009 increased to $1.6 million, compared with a second quarter 2008 net income of $1 million. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2009 was $3.7...
Calif. Workers’ Comp Rating Bureau to Recommend 22.8% Increase in Rates
Aug 13 2009 // The WCIRB will submit a filing to the California Department of Insurance (CDI) recommending an approximate 22.8 percent increase in pure premium rates (or “claims cost benchmark”) effective Jan. 1, 2010. The...
Ohio High Court: Negligent Act Can Be ‘Occurrence’ in Some Cases
Aug 10 2009 // In a decision announced Aug. 4, 2009, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that when a liability insurance policy defines a covered “occurrence” as an “accident,” a negligent act committed by an insured...
Consumer Reports: 73% Happy with Their Home Insurance Company
Aug 4 2009 // A new Consumer Reports’ survey of homeowner insurance customers found some good news, especially for people with decent credit and claims history. Lots of consumers are finding lower prices. More than half (53...
Claims Firm Says West Virginia Owes It $1 Million That Was Lost in African Scam
Aug 3 2009 // A Memphis insurance claims firm wants the more than $1 million that it was supposed to receive from West Virginia, but that was instead diverted in an apparent Africa-based fraud scheme, state lawmakers learned...
A New Landscape: Notice and Prejudice in Texas
Aug 3 2009 // In the past few years, the Texas Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed the meaning and operation of policy conditions. Perhaps nothing has received as much attention as the conditions relating to notice of an occurrence,...
Florida Workers’ Comp Claims Costs Grew in Years after Reform
Jul 30 2009 // Medical costs for workers’ compensation claims in Florida grew between 5 and 7 percent in 2005 and 2006, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The growth rate of followed a...
Suit Targets The Hartford’s Handling of Hurricane Wilma Claims in Florida
Jul 29 2009 // A Miami lawyer has filed class action suit against The Hartford alleging the company failed to pay replacement cost on Hurricane Wilma claims to insureds who had purchased the coverage. The suit claims The Hartford refused...
Report Claims Public Option Would Not Drive Out Private Health Insurers
Jul 28 2009 // Democrats in the House pounced on a congressional budget analysis to bolster their plan for a government-run health insurance option Monday, as party leaders said they were closer to agreement on healthcare reform. The...
Allstate to Close Mississippi Claims Office; Employees Offered Transfers
Jul 24 2009 // Allstate Insurance will close its Mississippi phone-claims center by Oct. 30, eliminating 63 local jobs. The claims center in Ridgeland has been in operation for about 30 years. Allstate spokesman Mike Siemienas says 33...
Insurance Reform Group Criticizes Medical Malpractice Insurance Industry
Jul 23 2009 // Insurance premiums and claims for doctors both have dropped significantly in recent years, while the medical malpractice insurance industry is enjoying “remarkable profits” in light of the global economic...
Securities Class Actions Decline; More Foreign Firms Targeted
Jul 22 2009 // Federal securities class action activity declined in the first half of 2009, with a particularly significant decline in the second quarter. According to Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and...
Insurance Claims Firm Says West Virginia Owes It $1 Million Lost in Scam
Jul 21 2009 // A Memphis insurance claims firm wants the more than $1 million that it was supposed to receive from West Virginia, but that was instead diverted in an apparent Africa-based fraud scheme, state lawmakers learned...
Mountain Climbing
Jul 20 2009 // It’s not that the public sector can’t do anything right; it can and does and it very often handles the jobs nobody else wants to do. Monopolies just aren’t good policy— whether they are held by a...
