Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
News Currents
Jan 28 2007 // Mass. Gov. Patrick replaces commissioner; halts high risk plan Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has taken steps to install his own appointee as insurance commissioner and halted the ongoing implementation of reforms to the...
Mass. Auto Insurance Fraud Crackdown Paying Off for Drivers
Jan 26 2007 // High-profile crackdowns on auto insurance fraud have resulted in dramatic savings for drivers in some Massachusetts communities. The statewide average premium is scheduled to drop by nearly 12 percent on April 1, but...
Mass. Panel Seeks More Low Cost Health Plan Options
Jan 25 2007 // The panel assigned with turning Massachusetts’ groundbreaking health care law into a reality sent insurers back to the drawing board this week, saying they need to do a better job at coming up with low cost health...
Mass. Ski Area Closes After Losing Insurance Coverage
Jan 24 2007 // The Blue Hills Ski Area in suburban Boston has shut down indefinitely while the private operator of the state-owned facility scrambles to find new liability insurance coverage. The ski area hopes to have coverage in a...
Mass. Auto Insurer Tops in Spending on Beacon Hill Lobbyists
Jan 23 2007 // Lobbyists trying to influence Massachusetts legislation on Beacon Hill raked in a record $64.3 million in 2006, as they plied their trade on issues ranging from education and insurance to tobacco and cable television,...
Mass. Gov. Patrick Derails Romney’s High Risk Pool Changes
Jan 22 2007 // Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said he will comprehensively review the state auto insurance system after the acting insurance commissioner on Friday suspended rules changes made in the system during the final weeks of...
Lamberti Named Chief Operating Officer at Mazonson in Mass.
Jan 17 2007 // Mary E. Lamberti has been appointed chief operating officer at insurance broker Mazonson LLC in Wakefield, Mass. As Mazonson’s COO, Lamberti will oversee all aspects of day-to-day operations. She will be responsible...
Commerce to Continue 5% AAA Mass. Auto Discount
Jan 15 2007 // The Commerce Insurance Co. has filed with the Massachusetts Division of Insurance to continue its five percent auto insurance rate discount for Amercian Automobile Association members in Massachusetts. If approved by the...
Mass. Diocese Ordered to Release Sex Abuse Documents to Insurers
Jan 12 2007 // A judge has ordered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Mass. to release thousands of pages of documents in a dispute between the church and seven of its insurance carriers over settlements with clergy sex abuse...
Mass. High Court: Paralyzed Patron Can Sue Bar
Jan 11 2007 // A man paralyzed in a car crash after a night of underage drinking can sue the bars that served him alcohol, the state’s highest court has ruled. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected claims by Robert Nunez that two...
Sen. Kennedy Urges Universal Health Plan, Solicits Recommendations
Jan 11 2007 // The federal government should join the state of Massachusetts in enacting universal health coverage, according to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D- Mass., the new chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over numerous...
Progressive’s Drive Enters Mass. Commercial Auto Market
Jan 10 2007 // Drive Commercial Auto, part of The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, announced plans to offer commercial auto insurance to Massachusetts business owners available exclusively through independent agents. With its...
Business Moves
Jan 7 2007 // Commerce Group, SWICO Enterprises, State-Wide Insurance The Commerce Group Inc., the largest auto insurer in Massachusetts, expects to enter the New York personal lines insurance market in 2007 as part of its plan to...
Enrollment Begins for New Mass. Health care Plan
Jan 4 2007 // Massachusetts residents who don’t have health insurance and don’t make a lot of money can enroll in a new state health plan that requires them to pay monthly premiums on a sliding scale based on their...
Mass. Auto Insurers Among Largest Donors to Patrick Inaugural
Jan 2 2007 // Four of the nine top contributors to Gov.-elect Deval Patrick’s inaugural are major auto insurers, whose businesses could be greatly affected by any efforts by Patrick to reform the state’s highly regulated...
States Keep Looking for Ways to Expand Health Care Access
Dec 29 2006 // The national spotlight shone on Maine’s universal health care access program when it was launched two years ago. Policymakers nationwide watched to see if Dirigo Health would deliver on its promise to provide health...
Tougher Teen Driving Bill On Way to Mass. Gov.’s Desk
Dec 28 2006 // Soon-to-be teen drivers would have to spend more time behind the wheel with their parents and face stiffer penalties for speeding and drag racing under a bill that could be headed to Gov. Mitt Romney’s desk by the...
Maine Panel Embraces Mandatory Health Coverage
Dec 26 2006 // Elected officials should consider increases in a variety of state taxes as they look for ways to make health insurance available to more Mainers, a panel that’s been studying the issue for several months voted last...
Mass. closes in on long-awaited transition to auto assigned risk plan
Dec 25 2006 // Final rules have been issued but will the new administration of Democrat Deval Patrick follow suit? Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler has ordered the implementation of an assigned risk plan for the...
2006: Mother Nature and political deals made 2006 an unsettling year
Dec 25 2006 // From Maine to Virginia, agents and adjusters helped property owners dig out from damaging floods. High waters seemed to hit a new state every week. Meanwhile, these same agents had to worry about whether their income was...
