Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Warned About Coastal Development and Insurance
Sep 20 2007 // A major hurricane making landfall in Massachusetts could cause billions of dollars worth of property damage while also severely straining the resources of the state’s residual homeowners’ insurance market, the...
Man Found Guilty of Manslaugher Under New Mass. Drunk Driving Statute
Sep 19 2007 // A Charlestown, Mass. man has been found guilty of manslaughter by motor vehicle and other charges in the death of a 16-year-old girl last year. Twenty-nine-year-old Robert Getz was sentenced to five years in prison on the...
Mass. Widow Awarded Workers Comp Death Benefits in Suicide Case
Sep 17 2007 // The widow of a 50-year-old mechanic who killed himself after being terminated from his job is entitled to receive death benefits under workers compensation, a Massachusetts Appeals Court in Suffolk County has ruled. The...
Commerce Insurance, Commerce Banc end spat, seek to partner
Sep 3 2007 // The Commerce Group Inc., the property/casualty insurer based in Webster, Mass., and Commerce Banc Insurance Services of Cherry Hill, N.J., have decided to explore partnership opportunities in various states and to resolve...
4 Insurers Said to Be Eyeing Mass. Auto Market After Deregulation
Aug 30 2007 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes says four insurers not now writing auto insurance in the state have said they will enter if her plan to allow competitive pricing goes forward. Burnes is not naming the...
Proposed Mass. Auto Rules Would Ban Use of Socioeconomic Factors
Aug 29 2007 // Auto insurers in Massachusetts would not be allowed to use socioeconomic factors in competitively pricing or underwriting policies under a regulation proposed by Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes. The draft regulation...
Mass. Man Pleads Guilty to Eating Glass to Defraud Restaurant Insurers
Aug 17 2007 // A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty this week to his role in a multistate scheme in which prosecutors say he and his wife intentionally ate glass at restaurants and collected more than $200,000 in compensation. Ronald...
Mass. Lawmakers Anxious About Auto Change, Socioeconomic Factors
Aug 14 2007 // Massachusetts lawmakers are anxious about the Patrick Administration’s decision to try competitive rating in auto insurance in 2008 but have stopped short of asking Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes to halt her...
Mass. Faces Deluge of Applications for Mandatory Health Coverage
Aug 13 2007 // Massachusetts state offices have been overwhelmed with applications for state-subsidized health insurance, leaving thousands of people to wait months for coverage needed to comply with a new state law that requires every...
Commerce Insurance, Commerce Banc Pursue Partnership Over Lawsuit
Aug 9 2007 // The Commerce Group, Inc., a property/casualty insurer based in Webster, Mass., and Commerce Banc Insurance Services of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, report they have reached an agreement to explore partnership opportunities in...
Mass. Auto Competition: Commerce Pulls U-Turn; Will Geico Field a Team?
Aug 8 2007 // Giant direct auto insurance seller Geico has been airing ads on Boston Red Sox radio broadcasts even though it does not do business in Massachusetts. The radio games are broadcast across New England and the Northeast so...
Mass. Court Rules Excess Insurer Not Bound by Primary Insurer Settlement
Aug 7 2007 // An insurer of a so-called “follow form” excess policy is not bound by the decision of a primary insurer to settle a claim, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. The state’s highest court...
Mass. Enacts ID Protection Law with Security Freeze Provision
Aug 6 2007 // Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed legislation that requires businesses and government agencies to promptly notify consumers when private information such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers have...
Directors & Officers Liability
Aug 6 2007 // For years, environmental issues, including issues arising from global warming, have hovered on the periphery of concerns affecting directors’ and officers’ liability exposure. But an April 2, 2007, decision by...
Commerce makes Mass. U-turn, now supports competitive rating
Aug 6 2007 // One of — if not the — most influential industry opponents of competitive rating for the Massachusetts private passenger auto insurance system for years has changed course and says it now fully supports the...
Commerce makes Mass. U-turn, now supports competitive rating
Aug 6 2007 // One of — if not the — most influential industry opponents of competitive rating for the Massachusetts private passenger auto insurance system for years has changed course and says it now fully supports the...
Mass. Agents Could Be Losers Under Competitive Auto Rating
Jul 31 2007 // Massachusetts insurance agents aren’t happy about the decision to introduce competitive rating into the state’s price-regulated private passenger auto insurance system. They enjoy the best market share (86...
Activist Drives Mass. to Check High Accident Rate in Big Dig Tunnel
Jul 31 2007 // Vincent Zarrilli knows a thing or two about lost causes. His proposal to convert an aircraft carrier to a prison went nowhere. And his calls for an alternative to the Big Dig went unheeded, as did his desire to create a...
Commerce Group Net Earnings Dip, Loss Ratio Rises in 2Q
Jul 27 2007 // The Commerce Group, Inc. in Webster, Mass. reported 2007 second net earnings were $41.5 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $58.6 million or $0.86 per diluted share for 2006. Included in the...
Central Insurance Returns to Mass. Commercial Auto Market
Jul 27 2007 // Central Insurance is re-entering the Massachusetts commercial auto insurance marketplace after a 17-year absence. Since 1990, Central has been a commercial lines only insurer in Massachusetts, writing primarily commercial...
