Latest Claims Headlines

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

Okla. Couple Awarded $13 Million in Lawsuit Against State Farm

May 30 2006 // An Oklahoma couple was awarded nearly $13 million in a class-action lawsuit after a jury ruled that State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. intentionally underpaid claims from families whose homes were damaged by tornadoes...

Service from Progressive Cuts Time Managing Crash Claims

May 30 2006 // More than 18,200 car accidents happen in the Austin metropolitan area each year–that’s about 350 a week or 50 a day. And, while about half of all claims handled by Progressive in the area are considered minor...

Eight Arrested in California for Defrauding Insurance Carriers

May 26 2006 // The California Department of Insurance (CDI) Fraud Division conducted an arrest warrant sweep that resulted in the arrests of eight suspects in Tulare, Fresno and San Luis Obispo counties. The suspects in these cases are...

Pa. Workers’ Comp Claims Costs Below Median But Growing Steadily

May 26 2006 // Average total costs per workers’ compensation claim in Pennsylvania showed steady growth, increasing more than 8 percent for claims evaluated in mid 2004 with 12 months’ maturity, according to a new report by...

Maryland Workers Comp Costs Rising But Average Claim Typical

May 24 2006 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim in Maryland grew very rapidly in the most recent year studied, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). A major factor driving these costs...

California Correctional Officer Submits Fraudulent Workers’ Comp Claims

May 23 2006 // A former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation correctional officer has been arrested on insurance fraud charges for submitting fraudulent workers’ comp claims, according to Insurance Commissioner...

Alaska Legislature rejects self-insurance bill as session comes to end

May 22 2006 // News Currents Alaska legislators concluded the 2006 regular session this month and in the final hours rejected a bill opposed by insurers that would have encouraged more employers to self-insure for workers’...

Case Law Watch

May 22 2006 // Additional InsuredsEquilon Enterprises, LLC v. Great American Alliance Insurance Company (Washington Court of Appeals, Apr. 3, 2006) (Unpublished) Ruling: A wholesale distributor of fuel had contracted with a supplier of...

Auto insurance costs hold steady; industry cites safety, less accidents as the cause

May 22 2006 // The cost of auto insurance is expected to rise by just 0.5 percent in 2006, the smallest increase in six years, reports the Insurance Information Institute. A declining number of auto accidents, safer cars and...

Four out of 10 medical malpractice cases are groundless; majority dismissed without payout

May 22 2006 // About 40 percent of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a Harvard analysis of the hotly debated issue that pits trial lawyers against doctors, with lawmakers in the...

Coverage issues at core of Hurricane Katrina-related litigation

May 22 2006 // The amount of property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana has been extensively reported, as has the fact that many people in those states did not have flood insurance coverage. As a result,...

Coverage issues at core of Hurricane Katrina-related litigation

May 22 2006 // The initial decisions from Hurricane Katrina lawsuits provide some comfort to both insurers and insureds and potential warnings to insurance agents. The amount of property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi...

News Currents

May 22 2006 // Study: Tort reforms reduce med-mal premiums Tort reforms are the best proven instrument for reducing medical liability insurance premium growth, according to a new study conducted by Stanford University Professor Daniel P....

Case Law Watch

May 22 2006 // Additional Insureds Equilon Enterprises, LLC v. Great American Alliance Insurance Company (Washington Court of Appeals, Apr. 3, 2006) (Unpublished) Ruling: A wholesale distributor of fuel had contracted with a supplier of...

Study: Tort reforms reduce med-mal premiums

May 22 2006 // Tort reforms are the best proven instrument for reducing medical liability insurance premium growth, according to a new study conducted by Stanford University Professor Daniel P. Kessler, JD, PhD, who also serves as a...

Auto insurance costs hold steady; industry cites safety, less accidents as the cause

May 22 2006 // News Currents The cost of auto insurance is expected to rise by just 0.5 percent in 2006, the smallest increase in six years, reports the Insurance Information Institute. A declining number of auto accidents, safer cars...

Four out of 10 medical malpractice cases are groundless; majority dismissed without payout

May 22 2006 // About 40 percent of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a Harvard analysis of the hotly debated issue that pits trial lawyers against doctors, with lawmakers in the...

Insuring Indian country

May 22 2006 // Indian tribes are no longer merely casino entrepreneurs or cigarette wholesalers. In conjunction with America’s largest corporations, Indians are now engaged in real estate development, banking and finance,...

The Hartford Opens Chicago Office to Handle Catastrophic Claims

May 19 2006 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. recently announced that it has created a new office in the greater Chicago area dedicated solely to processing claims that arise out of catastrophic events. This new catastrophe...

Minnesota Life Group Claims Double Digit Premium Growth in 2005

May 18 2006 // For the eighth consecutive year, Minnesota Life Group Insurance premium and policy fee income increased by double digits, according to a written statement issued by the St. Paul-based company. The growth rate in 2005 was...