Latest Pennsylvania Headlines
All the headlines from our Pennsylvania Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rendell Signs Updated Pennsylvania Mine-Safety Bill
Jul 9 2008 // Gov. Ed Rendell has signed into law the first comprehensive update to Pennsylvania’s mine safety law in nearly half a century. It addresses emergency shelters and accidental breaches of flooded mines, as occurred in...
Pennsylvania Bans Lenders from Requiring Excess Home Insurance
Jul 8 2008 // Pennsylvania homeowners may be entitled to a reduction in their homeowners’ insurance premiums, thanks to The Mortgage Property Insurance Coverage Act that Gov. Rendell signed into law on July 4. The law, which was...
Pennsylvania Marshal Urges Chiefs to ID Firefighter Arsonists
Jul 7 2008 // Experts say it’s impossible to identify firefighters with a penchant for arson, but the problem is widespread enough to prompt a program to educate fire chiefs about it. In Pennsylvania, state fire marshal David...
Pennsylvania Senate Finally Approves Ario as Insurance Commissioner
Jul 7 2008 // The Pennsylvania Senate in a July 3 roll call vote unanimously approved Joel S. Ario to become the state’s insurance commissioner, a year after Gov. Ed Rendell first nominated the former chief insurance regulator in...
Heads Up in Pennsylvania
Jul 7 2008 // Serious head injuries among Pennsylvania motorcyclists have become more common in the five years since lawmakers repealed the law mandating helmets, according to a legislative study. Meanwhile, overall motorcycle crash and...
Mine Owners, Unions Compromise on Long-Sought Pennsylvania Safety Bill
Jul 2 2008 // Legislation to improve safety in Pennsylvania’s approximately 200 bituminous coal mines was poised to become law after a marathon negotiation yielded a compromise bill endorsed Monday by both the coal companies and...
Serious Head Injuries Up After Pennsylvania Nixes Biker Helmet Law
Jun 27 2008 // Serious head injuries among Pennsylvania motorcyclists have become more common in the five years since lawmakers repealed the law mandating helmets, according to a legislative study. Meanwhile, overall motorcycle crash and...
Ratings: Argonaut, MAPFRE (Fla.), Pekin, Penn National, AXA Art, Tennessee Farmers, ALPS, BancInsure
Jun 23 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of the Texas-based Argonaut Insurance Group and its members. Best also...
Coal Miner Killed in Pennsylvania Accident
Jun 18 2008 // A coal miner was killed Monday in an accident at an eastern Pennsylvania anthracite mine. The 40-year-old man, who was not immediately identified, became trapped by falling coal or rocks about three-fourths of a mile into...
Fire Does $1M Damage to Pennsylvania Church
Jun 17 2008 // Fire officials in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania say a blaze did an estimated $1 million damage to a church in Caernarvon Township early Sunday. Flames were shooting from the roof of the south wing of Conestoga Mennonite...
Pennsylvania Debates Contractor Misclassifications
Jun 16 2008 // A bill to punish builders that avoid worker’s compensation fees and other costs by wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors was recently amended on the Pennsylvania House floor. The legislation aims to...
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Debate Use of ‘Independent Contractor’ Label
Jun 5 2008 // A bill to punish builders that avoid worker’s compensation fees and other costs by wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors was amended on the Pennsylvania House floor on Tuesday. The legislation aims...
Business Moves
Jun 2 2008 // Main Street America, Great Lakes Casualty The Main Street America Group, a regional property/casualty insurer based in Jacksonville, Fla. that writes business up and down the East Coast, is expanding to the Midwest. The...
Pennsylvania Gas Line Explosion Levels Vacant Building, Injures 4
May 23 2008 // A backhoe operator hit a gas line Wednesday, causing an explosion that leveled a vacant restaurant building and injured at least four people. Work was being done on curbs and sidewalks in the area. Cogan said workers were...
Ratings Roundup: Liberty Mutual, PMA, Selective, Lititz, Brethren
May 20 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘BB+’ junior subordinated debt rating to Liberty Mutual Group Inc.’s (LMGI) Series C junior subordinated notes in an amount up to $1.25...
Business Moves
May 19 2008 // AmWINS, Beacon Risk Strategies Charlotte, N.C.-based AmWINS Group Inc. acquired Beacon Risk Strategies, a Seattle-based managing general underwriter of excess-loss benefits insurance. Terms of the transaction were not...
Atlantic Specialty Completes Acquisition of Pa. Wholesale Broker ESL
May 16 2008 // Atlantic Specialty Lines of Pennsylvania, LLC, a subsidiary of Atlantic Specialty Lines, Inc. has acquired the business assets of ESL, Inc., effective May 1, 2008. ESL, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penn National...
Pennsylvania Prosecutors Say Ex-Judge Can Get Fair Trial in Erie
May 13 2008 // Pennsylvania prosecutors say former Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce’s insurance fraud trial should remain in Erie’s federal court. The 59-year-old Joyce wants the trial moved to U.S. District Court in...
Hobbs Joins NSM Direct in Pa. from HRH
May 9 2008 // David W. Hobbs has joined Conshohocken, Pa.-based NSM Insurance Group as director of NSM Direct, which is the brokerage firm’s retail insurance operation. Hobbs previously held the position of president of HRH of...
Conectiv to Pay $1.65M to Settle Racial Suit in Pennsylvania
May 8 2008 // Conectiv Energy and three subcontractors will pay $1.65 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by four black workers in Pennsylvania who said they were subjected to racial slurs, Ku Klux Klan graffiti and a noose...
