Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Proposal Sees New Auto Plan by 2008
Apr 21 2004 // The campaign to change the way Massachusetts handles high risk private passenger auto policies moved forward last week with the emergence of a draft outline agreed upon by two major players in the effort, the Massachusetts...
Mass. Gov. Vows Action on Auto:
Apr 19 2004 // Gov. Mitt Romney vowed to introduce a plan to introduce competitive rating and modify the subsidies good drivers now pay in the Massachusetts auto system. Romney said his plan would include changes to the residual market...
Mass. Streamlines and Equalizes Agents’ Access to CAR’s Commercial Auto High Risk Operation
Apr 17 2004 // The Massachusetts auto insurance industry is streamlining the way it handles high risk commercial auto risks by reducing the number of servicing carriers involved in handling them and equalizing access to the residual...
Manulife-John Hancock Merger Wins Mass. OK
Apr 14 2004 // Manulife Financial Corporation has received approval from the Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) for its proposed merger with John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. The DOI is the principal U.S. regulator for John...
Mass. Fraud Task Force Targets Two Cities
Apr 13 2004 // In a targeted effort to reduce the number of fraudulent auto insurance claims that drive up premium costs for residents of Springfield and Holyoke, Mass., a task force has been formed that combines the resources of the...
Mass. Gov. Romney Vows Action on Auto Market
Apr 6 2004 // Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney renewed his call for reform of the state’s auto insurance system yesterday and vowed to introduce a plan to introduce competitive rating and modify the subsidies good drivers now...
Rhode Islander Indicted by Mass.
Apr 5 2004 // A Rhode Island man has been indicted on charges he allegedly worked as a used car broker while claiming to be injured and collecting $160,000 in total disability benefits, according to Mass. Attorney General Tom Reilly....
How Healthy is the Mass. Auto Market’
Apr 5 2004 // In a state where independent agents write 80 percent of private passenger auto insurance, agents are worried about attracting more capital. While thinking about this question, consider the following facts: only 19...
Former Mass. Official D’Amato Heads Consumer Group
Mar 31 2004 // A former director of the State Rating Bureau (SRB) within the Massachusetts Division of Insurance and frequent critic of the industry and its regulators has signed on to be executive director at the Center for Insurance...
Mass. Charges 5 Chiropractors with Insurance Fraud
Mar 31 2004 // Editor’s note: Proceedings against Dr. Deidre Callanan of Holyoke have been dropped since this story first ran. The Massachusetts Board of Chiropractors has initiated separate disciplinary proceedings against five...
State Insurance Regulation Harmful to Consumers, Trade Group Tells Congress
Mar 31 2004 // The state insurance regulatory system hurts consumers because it is clogged with so much red tape, inefficiency and unnecessary rules, the American Insurance Association (AIA) said at a House subcommittee hearing...
Manulife-Hancock Deal Unopposed at Mass. Hearing
Mar 26 2004 // Manulife Financial Corp. made its case for acquiring John Hancock Financial Services on Wednesday at a hearing before State Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler. Shareholders of John Hancock have already approved the...
Mass. Man Sent to Jail for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 26 2004 // A Hyannis, Massachusetts man has been found guilty and sentenced to jail for working as a laborer while collecting $7,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, Attorney General Tom Reilly announced. Mark Gomes, 39, of...
Mass. Adds Its OK to St. Paul-Travelers Merger
Mar 23 2004 // The proposed Travelers-St. Paul merger has received another endorsement as the Massachusetts Division of Insurance has given its approval to the acquisition by St. Paul of Premier Insurance Co., the Massachusetts stock...
Mass. Eyes Fla.-style Hurricane Fund to Ease Coastal Homeowners Crisis
Mar 22 2004 // Massachusetts officials, searching for ways to ease a homeowners insurance availability crisis on Cape Cod and other coastal areas, are researching how Florida dealt with its insurance difficulties 10 years ago when it set...
Workers in Mass., Pa. Fare Better After Injuries Than In Other States
Mar 22 2004 // Injured workers located in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania report more satisfactory outcomes than their counter parts in Texas, according to a study by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study,...
Mass. Credit Score Vote Disappoints PCI
Mar 19 2004 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America expressed disappointment over the decision of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Insurance to approve SB 2093. The bill would place a total ban on the use of...
Mass. Agents, Bar Compete with Lawyers Programs
Mar 18 2004 // Three months after the insurer and the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) parted ways, Westport Insurance Corp. has signed on with the state’s agent association to sell its lawyers’ professional liability...
AIA Opposes Mass. Bill on Credit Scoring
Mar 10 2004 // The American Insurance Association joined the PCI (See IJ Website Mar.9) in announcing its opposition to a Massachusetts bill (SB 2093) that would ban the use of credit-based insurance scores. The AIA said passage of the...
PCI Says Proposed Credit Score Ban Would Further Disrupt Mass. Market
Mar 9 2004 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America notes that Senate Bill 2093, which seeks a total ban on the use of credit-based insurance scores in auto and homeowners insurance ratemaking, would create even more...
