Latest Mississippi Headlines
All the headlines from our Mississippi Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mississippi Considers ‘Fire-Safe’ Cigarettes Law
Mar 11 2009 // Mississippi might join three dozen other states in requiring that cigarettes extinguish themselves if left unattended. The so-called “fire-safe cigarettes” are made with two or three bands of less-porous...
Wildfire Threat in Mississippi High
Mar 11 2009 // A Mississippi forestry official says property owners should be cautious when burning leaves or brush because conditions are ripe for wildfires. Jimmy Mordica, director of conservation education and public outreach for the...
Readiness of Some Rebuilt Levees in Midwest Questioned
Mar 10 2009 // With the prospect of another season of spring flooding fast approaching, the Army Corps of Engineers insists the earthen flood levees outmatched by the Mississippi River last summer are rebuilt and ready. Not...
Mississippi’s Rep. Taylor Renews Push for Federal Wind Insurance Policy
Mar 10 2009 // Rep. Gene Taylor, D.-Miss., isn’t letting opposition by major insurance companies keep him from pushing his plan to make wind coverage for properties available through the federal flood insurance...
Louisiana, Mississippi Among Highest Homeowner Rates in 2006
Mar 5 2009 // Louisiana homeowners paid the third-highest home insurance rates in 2006, while Mississippi was hit with the sixth-highest average bill for coverage, according to a report by a national group of state insurance...
Scruggs Moved From Mississippi Halfway House to Prison
Mar 3 2009 // An attorney for Zach Scruggs, who along with his once-powerful lawyer father was convicted on a charge related to a judicial bribery conspiracy, says his client was not late reporting to a halfway house in Tupelo. Cal Mayo...
Allstate, State Farm Dismissed from Case Charging Katrina Overbilling
Feb 20 2009 // A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of Allstate Corp. and State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. from a lawsuit accusing them of overbilling the U.S. government for flood damage in Louisiana related to the 2005 storm...
Mississippi Bill Requires Expert Opinion at Filing of Negligence Suit
Feb 17 2009 // A bill that cleared the Mississippi Senate on Friday would make it more difficult to file a negligence lawsuit. Under the bill, an expert’s statement of merit would have to be included in any complaint alleging...
Mississippi Rejects 6 Insurers’ Appeals of Windpool Assessments
Feb 12 2009 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has upheld the efforts of the state’s wind insurance pool to collect millions of dollars in past assessments from six insurance companies. The insurers had claimed that...
Declarations
Feb 8 2009 // No Scapegoats in Mississippi “We will continue to work with all companies in providing an available, accountable and affordable market in Mississippi, and look for solutions, not scapegoats, in solving the insurance...
Insurers’ Stocks Down 14%; Middle Market Carriers Active in Intermediary Acquisitions
Feb 8 2009 // Stock Price: Commercial lines stocks mirrored those of major indices in 2008, trading down 14 percent. Mergers & Acquisitions: Middle market carriers continue to be major players in the acquisition market as they look...
State Farm to Sell Renters Insurance in Mississippi, But Not Homeowners
Jan 30 2009 // State Farm says it will resume selling renters insurance in parts of Mississippi away from the Gulf Coast. Company spokesman David Majors said that State Farm will still not selling new homeowners policies anywhere in the...
Commissioner Reassures: Mississippi’s No Florida in Its Insurance Markets
Jan 28 2009 // Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney moved to quickly to reassure state leaders and policyholders that no big insurance companies are leaving Mississippi. Chaney issued a statement after the announcement by State Farm...
Mississippi Grants to Help Homeowners Meet Flood Standard Reach $60M
Jan 28 2009 // The Mississippi Development Authority says federal grants to help coast homeowners meet new post-Katrina flood standards are nearing $60 million. MDA’s Elevation Grant Program is scheduled to complete all applicant...
Drunk Driver Victims Urge Mississippi to Expand Use of Ignition Locks
Jan 26 2009 // Nearly 21 years after a drunken driver plowed into her family’s Honda Civic and killed her parents and sister, Jennifer Sholar said certain sights and sounds still give her vivid flashbacks of the...
Mississippi Scruggs-Katrina Suits Quietly Settled
Jan 25 2009 // Dozens of Hurricane Katrina-related lawsuits filed by Richard “Dickie” Scruggs for policyholders against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. have been settled. Terms of the settlements are confidential. Officials...
Mississippi Hospitals Receive Funds from Insolvent HMO
Jan 20 2009 // Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney has delivered two checks totaling over half a million dollars to two Gulf Coast hospitals. The funds, delivered to the chief executive officers of Singing River Hospital...
Mississippi Grants $1 Million for Wind Mitigation Study
Jan 16 2009 // The Mississippi Insurance Department’s wind mitigation program has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority and Governor Haley Barbour’s office. Insurance Commissioner Mike...
Mississippi Firm Fined for Trench Collapse That Killed 3 Workers
Jan 15 2009 // A Mississippi company cited for safety violations in the death of three workers when a trench collapsed in March has agreed to pay a $39,500 fine. American Air Specialists Inc. of Hattiesburg was cited by the federal...
Mississippi Katrina Suits Filed by Scruggs Against State Farm Settled
Jan 15 2009 // Dozens of Hurricane Katrina-related lawsuits filed by Richard “Dickie” Scruggs for policyholders against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. have been settled. Terms of the settlements are confidential. Officials...
