Latest North Carolina Headlines

All the headlines from our North Carolina Topic Page, ordered by recency.

North Carolina Coastal Insurance Fix Would Alter Deductibles, Limits

Jun 29 2009 // North Carolina legislators started grappling last week with how to beef up the state-created but underfunded insurance program for coastal property, and immediately confronted the possibility that all of the state’s...

North Carolina Moves to Boost Motorboat Safety

Jun 26 2009 // Young motorboat drivers in North Carolina would be required to meet minimum boating safety education requirements in legislation approved by the House. The bill approved this week would obligate people under age 26 to...

All North Carolina Homeowners Could Pay If Insurers, Beach Plan Fall Short

Jun 24 2009 // Every insured homeowner in North Carolina could shoulder the cost of rebuilding if a massive hurricane hits under a deal taking shape in the Legislature. The legislation (HB1305), expected to be detailed in a House...

North Carolina Bans Texting While Driving

Jun 23 2009 // North Carolina has become the seventh state to pass a ban this year on texting while driving. So how did Gov. Beverly Perdue get the word out? She had an aide send a text message announcing the governor has signed the ban...

ConAgra: Insurance Covers Profit Loss at North Carolina Slim Jim Plant

Jun 22 2009 // ConAgra Foods Inc. said Thursday the North Carolina Slim Jim plant where an explosion killed three people last week is closed for now, with production not resuming until some time in August. While production will resume in...

North Carolina Ammonia Plant Leak Kills 1, Injures 4

Jun 22 2009 // An ammonia leak Saturday at a poultry processing plant in North Carolina killed one worker and injured four others, authorities said. Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said the leak occurred about 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mountaire...

Justice Benjamins

Jun 15 2009 // Eleven states also elect insurance commissioners and given that insurance regulators are in many ways judges, the same potential conflicts are in play. An elected West Virginia judge should have taken himself out a case...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires North Carolina’s Taylor Insurance Agency

Jun 10 2009 // Illinois-based international insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Walker Taylor Agency of Wilmington, North Carolina. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Spanning five generations with...

North Carolina Agent Charged with Murder Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

May 27 2009 // Former North Carolina insurance agent Michael A. Howell has pleaded guilty to 25 counts of embezzlement and is expected to plead guilty to the murder of the state examiner who audited his agency about one year ago. Howell,...

North Carolina Considers Cap on Workers’ Compensation for Retirees

May 12 2009 // The North Carolina House Insurance Committee has advanced a measure that would limit workers’ compensation payments to injured workers a few years after they become eligible for Social Security. The bill (HB 1022)...

North Carolina Agent Charged With Workers’ Compensation Fraud

May 8 2009 // A North Carolina insurance agent has been arrested, charged with twice failing to remit insurance premiums to the insurance company. North Carolina Commissioner Wayne Goodwin reported the arrest of Sherri Efrid, of...

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Volunteers for Pay Cut

May 8 2009 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said he will take a voluntary pay cut in line with what Governor Beverly Perdue has ordered for all state employees. All state employees — including those in...

North Carolina Court: ‘Reasonable Suspicion’ Requires Multiple Factors

May 7 2009 // An anonymous tip and a police officer’s observation of a driver swerving in his lane were not enough to reasonably suspect drunken driving, judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled this week. The...

Builders Mutual Insurance to Help Builders Learn Survival Skills

May 6 2009 // Raleigh, North Carolina-based commercial insurer Builders Mutual is launching a training program for builders that the insurer hopes will help them survive and thrive in today’s economy. Participants in the course,...

North Carolina Judge Clears Way for Home Insurance Rate Changes

Apr 30 2009 // A Wake County judge has cleared the way for homeowners insurance rates to drop in nearly three dozen western North Carolina counties and soar along the coast starting Friday. Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens this week...

North Carolina Coastal Insurance Rates to Rise May 1

Apr 23 2009 // Homeowners in 18 coastal North Carolina counties whose homes are insured by a state-backed insurance pool shouldn’t expect a delay of higher rates taking effect May 1. A powerful state legislator said a comprehensive...

North Carolina Insurance Chief Appeals Beach Plan Ratemaking Ruling

Apr 16 2009 // A North Carolina court ruling that questioned the insurance commissioner’s authority to approve insurance rate changes without public hearings is being challenged by Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. However,...

Rutherfoord Appoints Peterson to North Carolina Office

Apr 16 2009 // Insurance broker and risk management firm Rutherfoord has added David T. Peterson to its Raleigh, North Carolina office. Peterson will serve as division manager, providing direct oversight and responsibility for the growth...

North Carolina Moped Insurance Law Halted

Apr 13 2009 // An effort to regulate mopeds in North Carolina got diverted after senators rejected an effort to require riders to carry liability insurance. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand last week pulled his bill to require a moped to...

Judge Orders State To Rework North Carolina Beach Plan Hikes

Apr 6 2009 // A Wake County judge has ordered North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to reconsider deductible and surcharge increases for coastal homeowners in the state insurance pool called the Beach Plan. Wake County...