Latest Commercial Lines Headlines

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

Court Tosses Workplace Retaliation Damages Suit Against Mississippi College

May 18 2012 // A federal appeals court has ruled for Hinds Community College in a workplace retaliation case. In 2010, a Mississippi federal judge ordered the school to pay a former professor $345,020 after a federal jury found she had...

Hartford’s Commercial Underwriter Joins S.H. Smith in Connecticut

May 17 2012 // S.H. Smith & Co. Inc., a wholesaler and managing general agent headquartered in Hartford, Conn., appointed Tom Ferracci as underwriter/manager of workers’ compensation. Ferracci comes from The Hartford Insurance...

Aqua Underwriting Enters UK Commercial Market with High Net Worth Products

May 16 2012 // UK-based Aqua Underwriting announced the launch of a range of niche commercial combined products exclusively for brokers, building on its success with high net worth (HNW) products in the personal lines market. Aqua said...

Duplicate Regulation Drives Up Commercial Premiums, Says Iowa Researcher

May 8 2012 // Buyers of commercial liability insurance pay as much as 31 percent more in insurer compliance costs if their insurance company has to comply with regulations from multiple states instead of just a single regulator,...

OSHA Hit for Taking Too Long to Adopt Workplace Safety Rules

May 7 2012 // The nation’s premier worker safety agency takes nearly eight years on average to adopt new safety regulations, government auditors said in a report. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration takes far too...

Progressive Expands Commercial Auto Coverage Limits

May 7 2012 // Progressive Insurance has doubled the available liability limits of its commercial auto policies. It now offers options for $1.5 or $2 million. The expanded limits mean business owners won’t need to buy a separate...

Michigan Workplace Deaths Drop Slightly

May 7 2012 // The Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program reported that 141 workers died on the job in 2011 – four fewer than in 2010. The program investigates work-related deaths and seeks ways to prevent...

N.J. Examines Stop-Loss Insurance for Self-Insured Small Businesses

May 2 2012 // A growing number of small businesses in New Jersey are self-funding or self-insuring their employees’ healthcare costs, and they are opting out of paying fixed premiums for traditional health insurance plans like...

Wyoming Hires 7 Workplace Safety Employees

May 2 2012 // Wyoming has hired seven employees to do workplace safety checks with new funding from state lawmakers. The director of the Department of Workforce Services, Joan Evans, told KCWY-TV that the new employees will work under...

Mississippi Lawmakers Pass Workers’ Compensation Changes Backed by Employers

May 2 2012 // Mississippi legislators offered sharply different views of a bill they passed Monday to change the way compensation is awarded to workers injured on the job, or to survivors of those killed at work. If Republican Gov. Phil...

Main Street America Remodels Automated Commercial Auto Product

May 1 2012 // The Main Street America Group has introduced a remodeled commercial auto product to independent insurance agents who represent the super regional property/casualty insurance carrier in Arizona, Oklahoma and South...

Michigan Workplace Deaths Show Slight Dip in 2011

Apr 26 2012 // A report says fewer people died in the workplace across Michigan last year compared to 2010. The Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program reported that 141 workers died on the job in 2011 — four fewer...

Selective Reports $18.1M Q1 Profit; Commercial Lines Price Up 5.1%

Apr 26 2012 // Selective Insurance Group, headquartered in Branchville, N.J., reported $18.1 million net income for its 2012 first quarter, a 11.7-percent decrease compared to $20.5 million income reported during the prior-year...

Progressive Expands Commercial Auto Coverage Limits

Apr 23 2012 // Progressive Insurance has doubled the available liability limits of its commercial auto policies. It now offers options for $1.5 or $2 million. The expanded limits mean business owners won’t need to buy a separate...

North Carolina Employers Face Jail Time Over Uncovered Workers’ Claims

Apr 23 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 Commission has...

OSHA Hit for Taking Too Long to Adopt Workplace Safety Rules

Apr 23 2012 // The nation’s premier worker safety agency takes nearly eight years on average to adopt new safety regulations, government auditors said in a report. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration takes far too...

Chubb: $506M Q1 Income, Business Insurance Renewal Prices Edge Up

Apr 19 2012 // The Chubb Corporation reported $506 million in net income for the 2012 first quarter, down slightly — 0.59% — from $509 million income reported one year ago. The insurer’s underwriting profit improved...

Travelers Has $806M Q1 Income; Business Insurance Renewal Price Up 8%

Apr 19 2012 // The Travelers Companies Inc. reported $806 million in net profit for the 2012 first quarter. The first-quarter profit was down 4 percent when compared to one year ago, but the result during the year-ago period was boosted...

How to Help Small Businesses Avoid Underinsurance and Anticipate the Unexpected

Apr 16 2012 // In recent years, the United States has been impacted by devastating weather events, many unprecedented and unexpected. According to the Environment America Research and Policy Center, more than 15 million Americans live in...

Hawaii Critics Say Employer-Picked Doctors Unfair

Apr 11 2012 // Workers’ advocates claim injured Hawaii employees can’t get fair evaluations from doctors hired by employers or insurers. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported critics say the system is unfair by allowing...