Latest Michigan Headlines
All the headlines from our Michigan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers Say Granholm’s Premium Tax Hike Will Hurt Mich. Consumers
Mar 14 2005 // The Washington, D.C.-based American Insurance Association recently voiced strong opposition to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposal to shift hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes onto the insurance industry,...
Watters Warns Mich. Docs of Bogus Med-Mal Insurer
Mar 14 2005 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters recently issued a warning about a medical liability insurer called Professional Liability Insurance Co. She said in a statement that the...
Mich. Poll: Majority Supports Granholm’s Tax Plan
Mar 8 2005 // A slim majority supports Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s plan to shift the tax burden on Michigan businesses from manufacturing and research firms onto insurers, according to a poll commissioned by the Michigan Association...
Mich. Homeowners Premiums Below National Average
Mar 7 2005 // Homeowners insurance in Michigan is apparently a good buy. The $470 average premium for Michigan homeowners insurance is below the national average of $538. According to a study by the National Association of Insurance...
As Michigan Agents Gather, Industry Finds Itself in Crosshairs
Mar 7 2005 // The vote by the Michigan Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to file a notice of objection to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s rule banning the use of credit scores in underwriting was...
As Mich. Agents Gather, Industry Finds Itself in Crosshairs
Mar 4 2005 // GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—The vote by the Michigan Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to file a notice of objection to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s rule banning the use of credit scores in...
Mich. Panel Objects to Rule Banning Insurance Scoring, but Can’t Stop It
Feb 22 2005 // The Michigan Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules last week voted to object to the Granholm administration’s proposed rule that would ban credit-based insurance scoring and roll back base...
Mich. Insurers Say Consumers Lose in Gov. Granholm’s Tax Plan
Jan 27 2005 // A proposal to more than double the tax burden on the state’s insurance industry announced by Governor Jennifer Granholm today will result in higher premiums for the insurance-buying consumer, the Insurance Institute...
Sentry Acquires ALF Insurance Agency of Michigan
Jan 25 2005 // Stevens Point, Wis.-based mutual Sentry Insurance has purchased ALF Insurance Agency of Michigan Inc. from Dennis Hoyes. ALF has consistently ranked as one of Sentry’s largest agencies for specialty auto policies....
People & Places
Jan 24 2005 // Andy Schor Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters named Andy Schor as the new public information officer. As PIO, Schor’s responsibilities will be to share the priorities...
Rules Banning Credit Scoring Go to Mich. Panel for Approval
Jan 24 2005 // LANSING, Mich.–Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters have sent a legislative panel a set of proposed rules to reduce base insurance rates and...
Rules Banning Credit Scoring Sent to Mich. State Panel
Jan 14 2005 // Insurance payers in Michigan soon may be paying less. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters said last Wednesday they sent a legislative panel a set of proposed...
Toilet Brush Warning Tops Mich. Tort Reform Group’s ‘Wacky’ List
Jan 10 2005 // A flushable toilet brush that warns users, “Do not use for personal hygiene” has been identified as the nation’s wackiest warning label in an annual contest sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch. The...
Former Mich. Commissioner Fitzgerald Dies at 49
Dec 22 2004 // Former Michigan insurance regulator Frank Fitzgerald died this month at the age of 49. He was appointed commissioner of what would become the state’s Office of Financial and Insurance Services in 1999 before...
Mich. DOI Secures Half-Million Dollar Penalty From UnumProvident for Not Paying Disability Claims
Dec 22 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters signed a settlement agreement with the three principal insurers of the UnumProvident Group, which are Unum Life Insurance Company of...
Mich. Gov. Granholm Says Business Climate to Benefit From Reduction in Workers’ Comp Rates
Dec 17 2004 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday announced that Michigan’s business climate will benefit from an expected drop in the Workers’ Compensation insurance rates by an average 11.2 percent in 2005. Granholm...
Western Mich. CPCU Lands Gold in ‘Circle of Excellence’
Dec 10 2004 // The Western Michigan chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society was awarded the gold designation in the national group’s Circle of Excellence program. The group won the award for the 2003-2004...
Mich. Commissioner Hires Veteran Lansing Staffer Schor as Spokesman
Dec 10 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters named Andy Schor as the new public information officer effective Monday. As PIO, Schor’s responsibilities will be to share the...
Chrysler Sues Allianz for Blackout That Shut Down 14 of 31 Plants
Dec 6 2004 // DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group has sued insurers for refusing to cover losses the company sustained during the 2003 blackout. The outage–the worst in U.S. history–left millions of Michigan residents...
Study Finds Medical Costs Driving Up Auto Injury Claims
Nov 30 2004 // A new study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) finds that claimed losses for auto injuries have escalated at vastly different rates across four states with no-fault auto insurance regulations. From 1997 to 2002, the...
