Latest Claims Headlines
All the headlines from our Claims Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Coal Miner Claims Alpha Fired Him Over Safety
May 24 2012 // A coal miner who says he was fired for enforcing safety standards that slowed down both production and the sealing of the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia is suing Alpha Natural Resources. The State Journal...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Professional Claims Managers
May 23 2012 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Professional Claims Managers Inc. in Dallas, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Formed in 1986, Professional Claims Managers (PCM) is a full service third party...
Frank Crystal & Co. Launches Marine Insurance Practice
May 23 2012 // Frank Crystal & Co., an independent insurance brokerage firm, has formed an exclusive cooperation with P.L. Ferrari & Co. to launch a new U.S.-based marine insurance practice. A European-based insurance broker...
Insurers Paid $200M to Victims of June 1, 2011 Massachusetts Tornadoes
May 23 2012 // Massachusetts officials said that insurers so far paid out $200 million in claims related to devastating tornadoes in western and central Massachusetts that occurred on June 1, 2011. The Massachusetts Insurance Division...
XL Group, ABA Insurance Enhance EPLI Coverage for Commercial Businesses
May 22 2012 // The insurance operations of XL Group and ABA Insurance Services Inc., a managing general underwriter, have expanded their employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) product to include additional protection such as...
False Damage Claims Lead to Jail Time for Texas Couple
May 22 2012 // A North Texas couple have been sentenced to prison for their part in a conspiracy to defraud the city of Garland, Texas, of nearly $2 million by filing fraudulent damage claims against the municipality. Kenneth Wayne...
After Joplin Tornado, Town Looked Like a War Zone, Adjusters Say
May 22 2012 // “One of the eeriest things was … the lack of noise. There were no birds. There was no sound. There was no vegetation. There was nothing. There were no dogs. There were no cars. It was just mounds of rubble,”...
Joplin, Missouri: One Year Later
May 21 2012 // After the Tornado, Town Looked Like a War Zone, Adjusters Say “One of the eeriest things was … the lack of noise. There were no birds. There was no sound. There was no vegetation. There was nothing. There were...
The Next New Thing
May 21 2012 // Coverage Issues from Fracking Claims Every few years there are predictions of a new type of claim that threatens to engulf carriers. In the 1980s and 1990s it was environmental clean up claims and SuperFund, followed...
When Alcohol-Related Injury Allegations Strike
May 21 2012 // Understanding Premises Liability and Dram Shop Liability Triggers Claims involving allegations of alcohol intoxication require careful analysis when determining what policy or policies may apply. John P. Cunningham and...
E&O Insights: Why Workers’ Compensation Leads in E&O Claims
May 21 2012 // Every year, errors and omissions (E&O) claims arising out of the placement of workers’ compensation account for approximately 10 percent of all claims. Many of those workers’ comp claims are well in excess...
A Year after Joplin Tornadoes, $2.16B in Insurance Claims Paid
May 18 2012 // 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...
Woof! California Top Dog In Bites
May 16 2012 // California is the top dog in State Farm’s annual list of dog bite claims, and the state’s reported 527 dog bite claims and more than $20 million paid out in 2011 by the Bloomington, Ill.-based carrier...
Claims Valued At $35M Filed Over Reno Wildfires
May 14 2012 // About 1,100 claims valued at $35 million have been filed as a result of two major wildfires around Reno in recent months, according to insurance carrier reports. The Nov. 18 Caughlin Ranch Fire burned nearly 1,900 acres...
Missouri Regulators: Joplin Insurance Claims Deadline Approaching
May 14 2012 // The Missouri Department of Insurance is sending an urgent message to Joplin residents with incomplete insurance claims related to the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado. The department says many homeowners insurance policies...
Honda Wins Reversal of Small Claims MPG Judgment
May 10 2012 // Honda Motor Co. has won the reversal of a $9,867 small-claims judgment awarded to an owner who claimed the Japanese automaker fraudulently overstated the fuel economy of her Civic hybrid car. The decision by California...
Claims Hurt National Interstate Earnings in Q1 2012
May 9 2012 // National Interstate Corp., headquartered in Richfield, Ohio, reported 2012 first quarter gross premiums written of $130.2 million and net after-tax earnings from operations of $8.6 million or $.44 per share. Gross premiums...
Insurance Premiums Climb to a Record $30 Billion in Missouri in 2011
May 7 2012 // Missouri experienced a number of insurance industry “firsts” in 2011, including a record number of premium sales dollars, the largest-ever amount in claims paid for a single event, and an historically high...
North Carolina Threatens Jail Time Over Workers’ Unpaid Claims
May 7 2012 // North Carolina officials are requiring insurers to expedite the payment of workers’ compensation patients’ medical and wage-loss benefits or risk being sentenced to jail. The North Carolina Industrial...
BP Proposes Gulf Oil Spill Claims Settlement
May 7 2012 // BP Plc reached settlements on April 18 to resolve billions of dollars of claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and asked a U.S. judge for a long delay in any trial over remaining disputes stemming from the...
