Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Attorney General to Look into Commerce Insurance Sale to Mapfre
Dec 12 2007 // The pending acquisition of Commerce Insurance Group, Inc. by Spain’s largest insurer, Mapfre S.A., is being investigated by the Massachusetts attorney general. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,...
Mass. Officials Cite Early Success for Mandatory Health Benefit Law
Dec 12 2007 // As Massachusetts’ landmark health care law nears another crucial deadline, its ripple effects continue to spread across the state and country. This week those charged with overseeing the law toasted what they said...
Mass. Arson Case Still in Court After 9 Years
Dec 11 2007 // Almost nine years after five people died in an arson fire in Lynn, Mass., attorneys are still wrangling over which statements can be used at the trial of the woman charged with setting the blaze. The state’s highest...
Mass. Supreme Court Expands Doctors’ Liability to Nonpatients
Dec 11 2007 // A Massachusetts physician is responsible to all third parties who might possibly be affected by his failure to warn a patient about the side effects of a medication, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in a...
Several Mass. Auto Insurers under Pressure to Amend Rates for 2008
Dec 11 2007 // At least three insurers whose 2008 Massachusetts auto insurance rates have been questioned by officials have agreed to revise them and other insurers are under pressure to do the same. Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner...
Mass. Jury Hears Suit Against Doctor by Patient Misdiagnosed with HIV
Dec 7 2007 // A Massachusetts woman has sued a doctor who treated her after a test wrongly showed she was infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Audrey Serrano says she still has not shaken off the impact of living for years...
Mass. Police Officer Indicted for Insurance Fraud
Dec 7 2007 // A grand jury has indicted a Springfield, Mass. police officer in connection with insurance fraud and larceny. Prosecutors say Anthony Trabal was charged with motor vehicle fraud and two counts of attempted larceny for...
30% of Mass. Agents Expect to Lose Auto Business under New Managed Competition
Dec 6 2007 // Massacusetts insurance agents dealing with the switch to managed competition are expecting a lot of business movement as a result of the competitive system, with almost one-third (30.7%) predicting they will lose accounts...
Mass. Insurance Agents Support Managed Competition But Oppose Credit Scoring
Dec 5 2007 // Insurance agents in Massachusetts support the state’s move to managed competition in private passenger auto insurance but oppose insurers’ use of credit scoring in rating or underwriting. In an online Insurance...
Progressive Adding Second Mass. Auto License
Dec 4 2007 // A second major carrier has begun making inroads to the soon-to-be-deregulated Bay State auto insurance market, although it has stopped short of saying it will sell Massachusetts personal auto policies in 2008. The...
How Mass. Agents Feel About Managed Competition, Credit Scoring
Dec 2 2007 // Insurance agents in Massachusetts support the state’s move to managed competition in private passenger auto insurance but oppose insurers’ use of credit scoring in rating or underwriting. They are expecting a...
Business Moves
Dec 2 2007 // INAMAR, ACE Recreational Marine ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, announced that INAMAR, its marine marketing and underwriting division, will now be known as ACE Recreational...
Mass. Auto Insurers Get Into Gear for Competition
Dec 2 2007 // Most plan to cut rates as state moves ahead with plan for managed competition for 2008 Auto insurance carriers are looking to compete by rewarding drivers with good driving records, good grades, hybrid vehicles, property...
Encompass Adjusts Mass. Auto Rates for 2008
Nov 30 2007 // Encompass Insurance has further lowered its 2008 Massachusetts auto insurance rates for preferred risks by 5 percent, resulting in an overall statewide average decrease of 4.5 percent compared to the 3.4 percent in its...
18 of 19 Insurers Amend Mass. Rates; State Plans Outreach
Nov 29 2007 // Eighteen of the state’s 19 Massachusetts auto insurers amended rate filings for policies with April 2008 effective dates at the state’s Division of Insurance. The latest filings lowered rates from the origianl...
Mass. Auto Insurers Pressed to Lower 2008 Rates Even More
Nov 28 2007 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is pressing auto insurers in the state to lower their 2008 rates, arguing that their initial filings last week included more than $200 million in extra profits and payments to...
Arbella, MetLife, Main Street Amend Mass. Rates; OneBeacon Unveils Plans
Nov 28 2007 // Several Massachusetts auto insurers have amended last week’s filings to further lower rates and increase discounts for safe drivers while another revealed its plans for 2008 under the new managed care system. MetLife...
Mass. Businesses Not Offering Health Insurance Options Face Fines
Nov 26 2007 // More than five hundred businesses in Massachusetts that failed to offer insurance options to their employees under the state’s landmark health care law will be required to pay $5 million in fees. That’s far...
Mass. Liquor Liability Residual Market Lowers High Limit Rates
Nov 20 2007 // The Liquor Liability Joint Underwriting Association of Massachusetts (LLJUA) said it is lowering its rates for higher-limit coverage by more than 20%, effective immediately. Insureds buying coverage of $2 million per...
Mass. Drivers Get Taste of Competition; Insurers Cut Rates, Enhance Products
Nov 20 2007 // Drivers with good driving records, good grades, hybrid vehicles, property policies and pets are among those who could benefit under auto insurance rating plans filed for use in 2008 in Massachusetts. Indeeed, most drivers...
