Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Toronto Bank Buying Majority of Banknorth
Sep 2 2004 // Officials at Banknorth Group, Inc. (NYSE: BNK) of Portland, Maine, and TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG) of Toronto announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for TDBFG to acquire 51 percent of the outstanding...
Mass. Attorney General, Trial Bar, State Bureau Criticize 9.3% Auto Insurance Rate Request
Sep 1 2004 // A request by Massachusetts agents for a 32 percent boost in commissions brings the overall private passenger auto insurance rate hike sought by the industry for 2005 to 9.3 percent, up from the original 5.8 percent figure,...
Mass. Agents Seek Auto Commission Boost
Aug 30 2004 // The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) has filed for an average agency commission on private passenger auto insurance of $150.84 per vehicle, a 32 percent increase from the current $114 average. MAIA...
Commissioner Seeks Changes to Mass. ARP Plan
Aug 27 2004 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has ordered Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers (CAR) to make some changes to its proposed assigned auto insurance plan before she will approve it. While commending the...
Commerce Insurance Claims It Fears Liability, Not Competition, If Mass. Auto Changes Adopted
Aug 26 2004 // The leading writer of auto insurance in Massachusetts says it opposes the changes to the state’s residual market not because it fears competition or dislikes the assigned risk plan concept but because it fears...
Mass. Liquor Liability JUA to Write Higher Limits
Aug 25 2004 // The Liquor Liability Joint Underwriting Authority (LLJUA) of Massachusetts has taken advantage of a new law and filed to write higher occurrence policy limits of $1 million/$1 million. By law, the LLJUA had been limited to...
If Mass. Rebuilds Residual Market, Auto Insurers Still Unlikely to Come
Aug 23 2004 // While Massachusetts’ officials are overhauling their auto insurance residual market in hopes of attracting new insurers, it is becoming increasingly clear that the legislature will have to join the reform effort if...
Mass. Gov. Romney Inks Fire Safety Legislation
Aug 17 2004 // Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday signed into law the Commonwealth’s most far-reaching fire safety legislation since the Cocoanut Grove fire in 1942, strengthening the state’s laws to prevent tragedies...
Mass. Auto Insurers Seek 5.8% Increase
Aug 16 2004 // If Massachusetts private passenger auto insurers get their way, the rates they charge drivers in this state will increase an average 5.8 percent next year. The Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts (AIB) has...
Mass. Jury Faults Doctor in HMO Death Suit
Aug 12 2004 // A jury awarded $1 million to the family of a man whose stomach cancer was overlooked by a Norwood doctor in a malpractice case that lawyers say exposes physicians’ incentives to limit care to HMO patients. Kimiyoshi...
MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL COSTS STAY LOW:
Aug 9 2004 // The average medical payment per claim for the care of injured workers in Massachusetts rose 13 percent in the most recent period but still remained the lowest of the 12 states analyzed in a study by the Cambridge-based...
Mass. Gov. Romney Signs Bill Changing Effective Date of Auto Rates to April 1
Aug 3 2004 // Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has signed into law a bill changing from January 1 to April 1 the date that annual private passenger auto insurance rates take effect. The measure had been backed by the Massachusetts...
Proposed Mass. Auto Plan a ‘Trojan Horse’ Designed to Fail, Charges Consumer Advocate
Aug 2 2004 // The current proposal to change the Massachusetts auto insurance residual market to an assigned risk plan is “a Trojan Horse proposal designed to fail in order to produce an endless stream of anti-consumer measures in...
ProMutual Program Targets Baby Delivery Emergencies
Jul 28 2004 // ProMutual Group, the Boston-based provider of medical malpractice insurance in the Northeast, has launched a new patient safety program aimed at reducing the incidence of shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia is a birth...
Commerce Group Reports Q2, Year-to-Date Results
Jul 26 2004 // The Commerce Group, Inc. (NYSE:CGI) of Webster, Mass. today reported 2004 second quarter net earnings were $37.4 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $71.5 million or $2.22 per diluted share for...
Mass. Commissioner Replaces 5 on Auto Plan Board
Jul 26 2004 // The Massachusetts high risk plan currently in the throes of changing from a reinsurance plan to an assigned risk plan now has five new governing committee members. Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has...
Industry, Consumer Interests Square-Off Over Mass. Auto High Risk Plan Changes
Jul 23 2004 // A parade of industry representatives urged Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler to approve rules to transform the state’s auto insurance high risk plan into an assigned risk model, but consumer groups...
Mass. Legislation Aims to Eliminate Confusion in Auto Insurance Billing
Jul 22 2004 // The Massachusetts Legislature has approved legislation that insurance agents hope will help eliminate confusion in auto insurance billing. The Massachusetts Senate on Wednesday joined the House in approving House Bill...
Mass. to Hear High Risk Auto Plan Tomorrow
Jul 21 2004 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has scheduled a public hearing for July 22 to hear testimony on proposed rule changes to the state’s high risk auto facility. The changes were approved by...
Mass. Workers’ Comp Medical Costs Rise But Still Remain Among Lowest in WCRI Study
Jul 21 2004 // The average medical payment per claim for the care of injured workers in Massachusetts rose 13 percent in the most recent period studied, according to a new report by the Cambridge-based Workers Compensation Research...
