Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Court: Insurer Must Indemnify Contractor in Mass. ‘Sick Building’ Case
Apr 30 2009 // A federal court ruled that an insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify a flooring company which installed carpets and tiles in a Massachusetts office that were so fume-ridden, they made the building unusable. In a...
Massachusetts RMV Chief Warns Lawmakers of Branch Closings
Apr 30 2009 // Massachusetts egistrar of motor vehicles is warning House members she will have to close one-third of RMV branches if they cut her budget as planned. Rachel Kaprelian said in a memo this week that trimming her budget from...
Occidental Agrees to Alter Rating System for Massachusetts Drivers
Apr 20 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said that Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina has agreed to make significant changes to the way it rates Bay State drivers. Occidental, which announced...
Massachusetts Drivers Can View Driving Records Online
Apr 15 2009 // Massachusetts drivers can now view their records online. The Registry of Motor Vehicles announced Monday that drivers can see their driving records on the Registry’s Web site and download them or request certified...
Occidental Agrees to Alter Rating System for Massachusetts Drivers
Apr 10 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said that Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina has agreed to make significant changes to the way it rates Bay State drivers. Occidental, which announced...
Push for Transgender Protection Grows in New England
Apr 9 2009 // For Ethan St. Pierre, allowing someone who is biologically female but self-identifies as male to use the men’s bathroom is a no-brainer. “Look at me,” said St. Pierre, who was born a woman but is now a...
Progressive Offers RV, Motorcyle Coverage in Massachusetts
Apr 6 2009 // Progressive said it will begin offering motorcycle and RV insurance in Massachusetts. The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer said it will offer the coverage through its Web site as well as through independent insurance...
Direct Writers Reconsidering Massachusetts
Apr 6 2009 // As Managed Competition Marks Anniversary, Agency-Distributed Auto Insurance Faces New Rival It’s finally happened: Geico is entering the auto insurance market in Massachusetts. Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes...
Massachusetts AG, Insurer Reach Settlement on Policy Plans
Apr 2 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and a North Carolina insurance company have reached a settlement barring the company from using what Coakley described as unfair ratings practices. Occidental Fire and Casualty...
Massachusetts Enters Second Year of Car Insurance Experiment
Apr 1 2009 // For decades, Massachusetts had some of the nation’s highest automobile insurance premiums and was the last state to have rates determined by the government, not the open market. That changed one year ago this week,...
Esurance Exploring Massachusetts Personal Auto Market
Mar 24 2009 // Esurance, a San Francisco-based personal auto insurance direct writer, has taken preliminary steps to obtain a license to sell auto insurance in Massachusetts — although the company says it has no immediate plans to...
Geico to Sell Auto Insurance in Massachusetts
Mar 23 2009 // Geico is entering the auto insurance market in Massachusetts. State Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes confirmed in a statement Friday that the nation’s third-largest auto insurer has filed to begin selling...
Mass. AG Questions Insurer’s High Risk Insurance Auto Rates
Mar 23 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants a public hearing to review the auto insurance rates of a new company entering the market in Massachusetts. Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina is...
Massachusetts Court Nixes Suit against Youth Soccer Groups
Mar 23 2009 // The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that a boy whose leg was broken when a goal post flipped over cannot sue nonprofit youth soccer associations for negligence. Dustin Welch was hurt on April 10, 1998, when a goal...
Mass. Commissioner Reverses Plan to Drop Auto Surcharge Appeals Board
Mar 19 2009 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has reversed her plan to scrap the Bay State’s Board of Appeals — part of the long-standing system through which drivers could appeal insurance surcharges they...
Massachusetts Construction Jobs Drying up
Mar 17 2009 // The number of construction jobs in Massachusetts has fallen by about 10,000 positions in the past three months to the lowest level in a decade. The Boston Globe, citing state employment data, reports Monday that there are...
Massachusetts’ Attorney General Urges Insurance Chief to Keep Appeals
Mar 16 2009 // Attorney General Martha Coakley wants the state’s insurance division to maintain the appeals process for drivers who believe they were wrongly assessed surcharges for accidents. The Board of Appeals is slated to stop...
Massachusetts Registry, AAA May Join on License Renewals
Mar 13 2009 // The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is close to an agreement with AAA that gives the auto club’s 2.3 million members a chance to renew licenses and vehicle registrations at no extra charge — even on...
Massachusetts Court Nixes Suit against Youth Soccer Groups
Mar 11 2009 // The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that a boy whose leg was broken when a goal post flipped over cannot sue nonprofit youth soccer associations for negligence. Dustin Welch was hurt on April 10, 1998, when a goal...
Journalists, Bloggers Watching Libel Case Involving Staples’ E-mail
Mar 10 2009 // For decades, U.S. journalists have been guided by what most considered an absolute defense to libel lawsuits: If a news report is true, it can’t be libelous. But a recent decision by a federal appeals court in Boston...
