Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Progressive to Pay $125K Fine in Massachusetts
Dec 13 2011 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance announced a $125,000 financial settlement with Progressive Direct Insurance Company. Regulators said Progressive erroneously informed some Massachusetts consumers that they had used...
Law Pushed After Study Shows Massachusetts Seat Belt Use Dropping
Dec 12 2011 // A coalition is pushing for a new seat belt enforcement law after a study showed that seat belt use in Massachusetts is among the lowest in the country. According to a University of Massachusetts study prepared for the...
Massachusetts Utility Regulators Probe October Storm Response
Dec 5 2011 // Massachusetts regulators are preparing to hold public hearings in Springfield and East Longmeadow as they investigate how utility companies responded to the October snowstorm that knocked out power to thousands for...
Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban
Dec 5 2011 // Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that bans the use of credit in underwriting and rating private passenger motor vehicle insurance. The ban has already been in practice in the state but as an...
Declarations
Dec 5 2011 // Massachusetts Models “Untested and unsupported forecast models should not be used to justify rates that are excessive. Hurricane models have a significant impact on the premiums paid by all Massachusetts homeowners...
Massachusetts Sues Banks Over Foreclosures
Dec 2 2011 // Massachusetts sued five major banks Thursday over deceptive foreclosure practices such as the “robo-signing” of documents, potentially undermining negotiations between lenders and state prosecutors across the...
Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban for Auto Insurance
Nov 29 2011 // Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that bans the use of credit in underwriting and rating private passenger motor vehicle insurance in his state. The law, Chapter 195 of the Acts of 2011, was...
Massachusetts ‘Alarm Fatigue’ Lawsuit Settled
Nov 29 2011 // The family of an 89-year-old man who died at Massachusetts General Hospital when nurses did not respond to alarms on his cardiac monitor has settled its case against the hospital for $850,000. The Boston Globe reported on...
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts Won’t Seek Re-election
Nov 28 2011 // U.S. Democratic Representative Barney Frank, who helped to craft the landmark overhaul of financial regulations that bears his name, will not seek re-election in 2012, Democratic aides said Monday. Frank, one of the most...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Weigh Changes to Motorcycle Laws
Nov 28 2011 // Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing changes to the state’s motorcycle laws, including bills designed to ease the requirement that riders wear helmets. Current law requires all riders and passengers to wear...
Mass. AG Wants to Put Brakes on ‘Excessive’ Homeowners Insurance Rate
Nov 18 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is urging the State Rating Board to hold a hearing to scrutinize the data insurers use to set homeowners insurance rates in her state. The Attorney General’s office says...
Travelers of Massachusetts Launches Accident Forgiveness, New Car Discounts
Nov 16 2011 // New car purchases in Massachusetts are on pace to exceed the 2010 year-end total of 310,547 by more than seven percent, according to data from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. In response to increasing new car...
Mass.-based Farrell Backlund Agency Merges With Richardson-Cuddy
Nov 8 2011 // Taunton, Mass.-based Farrell Backlund Insurance Agency has merged with Richardson-Cuddy Insurance Agency in the nearby city of Attleboro, Mass. The deal creates one of the largest independent property/casualty agencies in...
Some in Connecticut Still Without Power
Nov 7 2011 // Some of the thousands of Connecticut residents still in the dark Monday may not have power restored until mid-week, more than 10 days after a monster snowstorm knocked out electricity to millions of people in the...
Mass. Agents Drop Ballot Effort on Credit Ban
Nov 7 2011 // The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) has agreed to a request from state lawmakers to withdraw the ballot initiative it filed in August to prohibit the use of credit scoring, education, and occupational...
3M Powerless as October Snow Surprises Northeast
Oct 31 2011 // A freak October snowstorm knocked out power Sunday to more than 3.1 million homes and businesses across the U.S. Northeast, with close to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow falling in some areas over the weekend. The storm...
Massachusetts Agents Drop Ballot Effort on Credit Ban
Oct 27 2011 // The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) has agreed to a request from state lawmakers to withdraw the ballot initiative it filed in August to prohibit the use of credit scoring, education, and occupational...
Mass. Businessman to Appear in Court to Face Insurance Fraud Charges
Oct 26 2011 // A Peabody, Mass., business owner who was indicted for allegedly collecting tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent claims will be at a criminal case court hearing this Friday. Robert Giller, age 52, was indicted in...
5 More Massachusetts Counties Get Irene Disaster Aid
Oct 24 2011 // Gov. Deval Patrick says five more Massachusetts counties are being included in the federal disaster declaration after the remnants of Hurricane Irene hit the state in August. The counties added are on Cape Cod, the islands...
Massachusetts Jury Returns $20M Verdict in Pool Slide Suit
Oct 18 2011 // A Massachusetts jury has ordered Toys `R Us to pay more than $20 million to the family of a woman who was killed when an inflatable pool slide partially collapsed at a 2006 party. The Salem Superior Court verdict, returned...
