Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Virginia’s New Bad Faith Law: What Insurers Need to Know
Aug 20 2024 // On July 1, 2024, new Virginia Code § 8.01-66.1 became effective and created a new bad faith cause of action that can be significant for underinsured or uninsured (UIM) carriers. The prior Va. Code § 8.01-66.1 did not...
West Virginia Governor Touts 20th-Straight Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease
Aug 13 2024 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 9.1% decrease in workers’ compensation loss cost projections for the West Virginia voluntary market. If approved by regulators, it would mark the 20th...
Virginia Declares State of Emergency in Anticipation of Tropical Storm Debby
Aug 7 2024 // Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency for Virginia based on National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center forecasts that indicate the state could see significant rainfall and flooding from Tropical...
Woman Dies in West Virginia’s Second Coal Mine Fatality This Year
Jul 26 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman died Wednesday more than a week after an accident at a southern West Virginia coal mine, Gov. Jim Justice said. Ashley Cogar, 33, of Erbacon, was injured at the Wyco Surface...
West Virginia’s Ludewig Retires as Agency Joins with Leavitt Group
Jul 19 2024 // Longtime West Virginia insurance agent Charles Ludewig has decided to retire, paving the way for his agency to join the Leavitt Group, one of the largest privately held brokerages in the country. “I’m looking...
Religious Liberty Bars Priest’s Defamation Claim Against Bishop, Virginia Court Rules
Jul 18 2024 // A priest’s defamation claim against his bishop is barred by the religious liberty protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, a Virginia appeals court has ruled. The...
People Moves: Virginia Regulatory Agency Names Damico Chief Administrative Officer
Jul 16 2024 // Virginia’s business regulator authority, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), named Joseph F. Damico chief administrative officer. Damico will oversee administrative divisions responsible for the...
Lawsuit Against West Virginia Troopers Settled in Death of Maryland Man
Jul 12 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A judge approved a $1 million settlement Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit that accused West Virginia state police troopers of using excessive force on a Maryland man who was walking along a...
Markets/Coverages: High-End Home Insurer Openly Enters Virginia
Jul 10 2024 // Home insurer Openly has begun offering its coverage options to independent insurance agents and their policyholders in Virginia. Already active in 23 states, the upmarket home insurer said it is launching in Virginia with...
15 Firefighters Injured Fighting Virginia Warehouse Fire
Jul 9 2024 // Fifteen firefighters were injured fighting a large blaze at a fertilizer warehouse in South Hill, Virginia on Saturday. The firefighters were hospitalized due to chemical exposure, heat exhaustion and minors scrapes and...
Court Finds Virginia’s Punitive Damages Cap Applies Per-Plaintiff in Charlottesville Case
Jul 3 2024 // A federal appeals court has ruled that Virginia’s $350,000 punitive damages cap applies on a per-plaintiff basis in a case against white supremacists who organized the “Unite the Right” rally in...
Marshall Elected Chair of Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission
Jul 2 2024 // Wesley G. Marshall has been elected to a three-year term as chairman of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC), effective July 1, 2024. He succeeds Commissioner Robert A. Rapaport, whose term ended June...
Dali Cargo Ship Leaves Baltimore for Virginia, Nearly 3 Months After Bridge Collapse
Jun 26 2024 // The cargo ship Dali headed out of Baltimore for Virginia on Monday, nearly three months after it lost power and crashed into one of the Francis Scott Key bridge’s supporting columns and caused the bridge to...
Fatal House Explosion in Virginia Blamed on Man Igniting Gasoline
Jun 12 2024 // A man who died in a house explosion six months ago outside the nation’s capital deliberately detonated gasoline canisters in his basement that caused the blast, authorities said Friday. Arlington County police in...
University to Pay $9 Million Over Campus Shooting That Killed 3, Wounded 2
Jun 4 2024 // The University of Virginia will pay $9 million in a settlement related to a 2022 campus shooting that killed three football players and wounded two students, a lawyer representing some of the victims and their families...
Virginia Tech Firm Settles Allegations Over Whites-Only Job Listing
May 30 2024 // A northern Virginia tech company is paying $38,500 to settle claims that it discriminated by posting a job listing seeking white, U.S.-born candidates for an opening as a business analyst. The Justice Department announced...
WV Governor’s Coal Company Settles with BrickStreet Mutual in Payment Dispute
May 28 2024 // The hits keep coming for West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his coal companies. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals last week agreed to dismiss an appeal brought by Justice’s Southern Coal Corp. against its...
Mars Loses Appeal to Undo Dismissal of COVID-19 Business Loss Claims
May 28 2024 // Petcare, food and candy company Mars Inc. has lost its bid to revive its claims against Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for business interruption losses it incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The Fourth Circuit Court of...
WV Coal Mine Where Miner Died Had Multiple Safety Violations
May 24 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A coal mine in West Virginia had a long history of safety violations before a miner was fatally injured this week operating an excavator, according to local news reports. Virgil Paynter, of...
Virginia Insurance Agent Sentenced for Writing Policies Without Clients’ Consent
May 24 2024 // A Virginia insurance and annuities agent was sentenced to one year and three months years in prison for mail fraud after swindling his employer and clients in multiple schemes. According to court documents, from August...
