Latest North Carolina Headlines

N.C. Insurance Department Gets $1 Million Federal Grant

Aug 18 2010 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has announced that the state’s Department of Insurance has been awarded $1 million in federal funding to help the agency implement requirements under the federal...

Three in N.C. Busted for Auto Theft Fraud

Aug 17 2010 // North Carolina’s Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has announced the arrests of three individuals allegedly involved in a fraudulent stolen vehicle scheme meant to deceive an insurance company. Donna Leblanc, 55,...

North Carolina Health Insurer Cuts Jobs

Aug 16 2010 // North Carolina’s largest health insurer says it plans to lay off about 90 people as part of cost-cutting moves to prepare for the new federal health care law. The News & Observer reports Friday that Blue Cross...

North Carolina Mother, Daughter Charged with Insurance Fraud

Jul 29 2010 // A Winterville, North Carolina mother and daughter have been accused of conspiring with one another to alter medical bills and submit them to Farm Bureau Insurance Co. They received $1,264 as a result of these claims,...

North Carolina Crime Rate Down

Jul 16 2010 // Law enforcement officials say North Carolina’s crime rate in 2009 was the lowest in a quarter-century. The statistics released by the office of Attorney General Roy Cooper show particlar improvements in violent...

Virginia Start-Up Hilb Group Acquires North Carolina, New York Agencies

Jul 14 2010 // The Hilb Group, a Virginia insurance brokerage launched in 2009 by the founder of what became one of the world’s largest brokerages along with his son, has added its first two partners as it begins building a...

North Carolina Increases Home Insurance Discounts for Stormproofing

Jul 5 2010 // North Carolina coastal homeowners will soon be entitled to bigger breaks on their insurance premiums for taking steps to protect their homes against storms. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has ordered a schedule of...

Jul 5 2010 // 77.2% In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices for insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

4 in North Carolina Arrested on Auto Insurance Fraud Charges

Jul 1 2010 // Four people have been arrested in North Carolina for their alleged involvement in a series of automobile insurance fraud schemes worth more than $9,000, according to state officials. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin...

North Carolina to Issue Temporary Pyrotechnic Licenses for July 4th

Jun 28 2010 // North Carolina will issue temporary one-time pyrotechnic licenses to operators instead of the new standard three-year licenses to meet high demand around the July 4th holiday. The Legislature quickly passed and the...

Homeowners Offered Few Insurance Choices in Hurricane States

Jun 28 2010 // In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices of insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

North Carolina Increases Home Insurance Discounts for Stormproofing

Jun 24 2010 // North Carolina coastal homeowners will soon be entitled to bigger breaks on their insurance premiums for taking steps to protect their homes against storms. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has ordered a schedule of...

North Carolina Might Ease Fireworks Safety Law for July 4th

Jun 18 2010 // A state law passed after the July 4 blast on Ocracoke Island that killed four fireworks handlers mandated safety training for those who prepare the displays, but some warn the rule could limit fireworks shows this...

Bill Would Lift North Carolina’s Oil Spill Liability Cap

Jun 14 2010 // North Carolina’s current cap for monetary damages it could receive from oil spills would be eliminated in legislation approved last week by a House committee in response to the BP disaster in the Gulf of...

North Carolina Insurers Oppose Change to Negligence Standard

Jun 7 2010 // North Carolina property and liability insurers are taking their case to the public to impede an effort in the Legislature to change how monetary awards are determined in negligence cases. The Insurance Federation of North...

Smart Choice Agency Market Program Expands to 6 More States

May 27 2010 // The North Carolina-based Smart Choice Agents Program, which says it currently provides personal and commercial lines markets for some 3,000 independent agencies in 32 states, is expanding into six additional states. The...

North Carolina Woman Charged with Embezzling Insurance Premiums

May 21 2010 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the arrest of Vickie Bowman of Taylorsville on seven counts embezzlement. According to the arrest warrants, Bowman failed to remit a total of $7,958.01 in...

Safety Grate Rule May Close North Carolina Pools

May 21 2010 // A federal safety law has led some North Carolina counties to close their public pools and could keep hundreds more from opening this summer. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that state officials are enforcing...

Bid to Create North Carolina Rate Commission Fails

May 20 2010 // Senators have removed a North Carolina budget proposal provision that sought to shift decisions on insurance rates to the hands of a seven-member board. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to delete lines that would...

North Carolina Weighs Storm Mitigation Credit Proposal by Homeowners Insurers

May 17 2010 // Insurers in North Carolina are preparing to offer premium credits to homeowners who implement storm mitigation improvements. On behalf of insurers, the North Carolina Rate Bureau has filed a proposal with the Department of...