Latest Massachusetts Headlines

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

News Currents

Oct 8 2007 // Mass. warned on coastal development and insurance 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...

Mass. Weighs Getting Tougher with Road Rage, High-Speed Drivers

Sep 27 2007 // Road rage incidents are driving some lawmakers to get tougher on angry and reckless motorists. The Legislature’s transportation committee will consider a bill designed to crack down on a range of bad behavior on the...

Hanover Offering Discounts in Mass. for Advanced Driver Training Course

Sep 27 2007 // As Massachusetts prepares to move to a more competitve auto insurance system, The Hanover Insurance Group announced it will offer discounts on an advanced driver training course for its policyholders and their family...

Editor’s Note: Promises to keep

Sep 24 2007 // p:Deregulation is breaking out all over, with Democrats spearheading the changes and making the promises of a better insurance future. Most recent is the Spitzer administration’s move to deregulate workers’...

People

Sep 24 2007 // The National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices has named its officers and directors for the 2007-2008 term. The new NAPSLO president is Mary Ellen Rozzell, who is with Continental/Marmorstein & Malone...

Burnes: four insurers eyeing deregulated Mass. auto market

Sep 24 2007 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes says four insurers not now writing auto insurance in the state have said they might enter if her plan to allow competitive pricing goes forward. Burnes is not naming the...

Promises to keep

Sep 24 2007 // Deregulation is breaking out all over, with Democrats spearheading the changes and making the promises of a better insurance future. Most recent is the Spitzer administration’s move to deregulate workers’...

From Consumer Viewpoint, New Mass. Auto Rules Need Work

Sep 21 2007 // A Massachusetts consumer group and Attorney General Martha Coakley urged Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes to incorporate more consumer protections and ban the use of credit scores in her proposed auto insurance...

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...