Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hub International Acquires Assets of E.J. Wells Insurance Agency in Mass.
May 5 2014 // Hub International Limited said its subsidiary Hub International New England, LLC has acquired the assets of E.J. Wells Insurance Agency Inc., a Westford, Mass.-based insurance brokerage firm. Terms of the acquisition were...
Financing Firm to Pay $200K for Prematurely Cancelling Auto Policies in Mass.
May 2 2014 // An Illinois-based premium financing provider has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally and prematurely cancelled certain financed auto insurance policies affecting nearly 200 Massachusetts...
Massachusetts Fines GEICO $275K for Accident Reporting Inconsistencies
May 2 2014 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy announced Thursday an agreement with auto insurance giant GEICO to resolve inconsistencies in its reporting of auto accident information to Massachusetts state agencies...
Vermont Jury Awards $35 Million in Sex Abuse Case
Apr 25 2014 // A woman who said she was sexually abused over several years in the 1990s was awarded $35 million by a civil jury, though her attorney acknowledged it was unlikely the defendant would ever be able to pay all of it. The jury...
Eastern Insurance Acquires Smith Buckley & Hunt in Massachusetts
Apr 24 2014 // Eastern Insurance Group has acquired Smith Buckley & Hunt, an insurance agency based in Brockton, Mass. Smith Buckley & Hunt was founded in 1875 and the Smith Family has owned the agency since 1922. The principals...
Mass. Regulator on Boston Bombing Claims, TRIA Reauthorization Effort
Apr 23 2014 // Massachusetts Division of Insurance’s last data call showed that the vast majority of insurance claims stemming from the Boston marathon bombing tragedy have been resolved. The data also revealed that among the 160...
Boston Marathon Attacks Convinced Smaller, Midsized Firms to Buy Terror Insurance
Apr 17 2014 // For landlord Peter Zagorianakos, terrorism insurance wasn’t a necessity until the bombs went off last April at the Boston Marathon and revealed a frightening pattern. Two buildings he owns stand within a half-mile...
Starkweather & Shepley Names Healthcare Risk Specialist in Massachusetts
Apr 15 2014 // Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. has appointed Stephen Primiano as healthcare risk specialist. Primiano will be working out of Starkweather’s Westwood, Mass., location, where he will continue to...
Massachusetts Judge Criticizes AIG in $7M Decision
Apr 14 2014 // A Massachusetts judge has ordered AIG Inc. to pay at least $7 million to a Wellesley, Mass., man injured after he was struck by a bus in a scathing decision that accuses the insurer of hiding evidence and manipulating...
Mass. Health Insurer Cuts Narcotic Prescriptions to Combat Abuse
Apr 10 2014 // The largest health insurer in Massachusetts has cut prescriptions of narcotic painkillers by an estimated 6.6 million pills in 18 months as part of a campaign to curb abuse. The decline in prescribed opiates including...
Massachusetts to Keep Workers’ Comp Rates at Current Levels
Apr 7 2014 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) announced on March 21 that it has reached a settlement with the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (WCRIB) and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s...
Massachusetts Report Examines Workplace Risks for State Employees
Mar 27 2014 // About 3,000 Massachusetts state employees experienced job-related injuries from 2010 to 2012 serious enough to require time off, while four workers lost their lives. That’s one of the findings of a special advisory...
Ratings: Safety Group, Virginia Farm, New Mexico Casualty, Mennonite Mutual
Mar 27 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) for the subsidiaries of Safety Insurance Group,...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Seek to Ease Federal Flood Insurance Rules
Mar 25 2014 // When Mitch Haddad and his brother began rebuilding their family’s oceanside restaurant in Marshfield, Massachusetts, they decided to take no chances. The restaurant, which had been in the family for more than 70...
Aronson Insurance Acquires Shuffain Insurance Agency in Massachusetts
Mar 24 2014 // Aronson Insurance, an independent insurance agency in the suburban Boston area of Needham, Mass., has acquired Shuffain Insurance Agency of Sharon, Mass. Aronson Insurance is an independent insurance agency owned and...
Mass. DOI Reaches Settlement to Keep Workers’ Comp Rates at Current Levels
Mar 21 2014 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) announced Friday it has reached a settlement with the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (WCRIB) and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office to...
Mass. Biz Owner Charged in Connection With Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 20 2014 // Massachusetts Attorney General’s office announced a Lowell, Mass., businessman has been indicted on charges he failed to accurately report his total payroll and number of employees and understated the number of jobs...
Mass. to Dump Website Contractor Over Troubled Online Health Exchange
Mar 18 2014 // Massachusetts plans on cutting ties with the contractor for its hobbled health care insurance website. The recommendation was made Monday by Sarah Iselin, who was hired by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to oversee a fix...
McGowan Purchases Assets of Breed’s Hill Insurance Agency in Massachusetts
Mar 14 2014 // The McGowan Cos., based in Fairview Park, Ohio, announced it has purchased the assets of Breed’s Hill Insurance Agency in Charlestown, Mass. Effective immediately, Breed’s Hill will begin operating under the...
Mass. House OKs Bill to Soften Impact of Flood Insurance Rules
Mar 13 2014 // The Massachusetts House on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill designed to soften the impact of new federal flood insurance rules on many of the state’s coastal homeowners. The measure, sponsored by Democratic...
