Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Entire East Coast Placed on Hurricane Alert
Aug 23 2011 // The United States put its eastern seaboard on alert for Hurricane Irene Tuesday, as the powerful storm barreled up from the Caribbean on a path that could hit the U.S. coast on the weekend. Even as the first hurricane of...
Quake Damages Spires on Washington’s National Cathedral
Aug 23 2011 // The Washington National Cathedral, the highest point in the U.S. capital city, suffered damage in Tuesday’s earthquake, with three spires in the central tower breaking off of the gothic-style building, a spokesman...
Earthquake Rattles East Coast; No Deaths or Major Damage Reported
Aug 23 2011 // A strong earthquake struck the U.S. East Coast and was felt as far away as Canada on Tuesday, shaking buildings in many cities, delaying flights and trains and sending thousands of frightened workers into the...
Washington Auto Glass Fraud Perpetrator Ordered to Pay
Aug 23 2011 // A Burien auto glass company owner who was sentenced for insurance fraud last week now has been ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution to several insurance companies for the overbilling scam. Michael Alan...
Survey Says Washington Drivers Go Slow to Save
Aug 19 2011 // A recent poll from Northwest insurer PEMCO Insurance reveals that while a majority of drivers say they take steps to reduce the amount of gas they use, about eight out of 10 drivers in Washington and the greater Portland...
Washington Court Rules in Single-Car, Underinsured Motorist Case
Aug 17 2011 // A Washington State couple has been turned down on their appeal of a ruling that said Farmers Insurance can deny their uninsured motorist claim following a single-car accident, which they said was caused by another driver...
Washington Insurance Commissioner Fines Health Insurer
Aug 16 2011 // Wshington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined Regence BlueShield (Regence) $100,000 for denying contraceptive coverage to 984 women. Kreidler learned about the violation from a consumer who contacted his...
Washington State Agent Pleads to Bilking Doctors
Aug 4 2011 // Brenda MacLaren-Beattie, a longtime insurance agent in Des Moines, Wash., has pleaded guilty to first-degree theft for selling fake insurance to oral surgeons in two states. An investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike...
When Rating Agencies Judge the World – an Analysis
Aug 3 2011 // The man who holds in his hands the fate of U.S. credit, and with it potentially the global economy, favors small tie knots, sports a bushy mustache and smokes his fair share of cigarettes. Beyond that, he is a mystery,...
Agents Question GM Free Car Insurance Deal With MetLife Auto
Aug 1 2011 // Independent insurance agents are raising concerns over a General Motors promotion that offers car buyers in the Pacific Northwest a year of free liability and damage insurance from MetLife Auto & Home. Hoping to put...
Poll Says Washington Drivers Do Not Know Left-Lane Law
Jul 21 2011 // Forty-three percent of drivers in Washington State do not know that it is illegal to impede the flow of traffic in the left lane of a highway, according to a survey by Pemco Mutual Insurance Co., Seattle. “Camping...
Ratings Recap: Washington Casualty, Western, One Beacon (notes)
Jul 18 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A-‘ (Excellent) from ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating to “a-” from “bbb-” of Washington Casualty Company...
S&P Threatens Downgrade of Insurers, Financial Firms Over Debt Ceiling
Jul 18 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Friday raised the pressure on debt negotiators in Washington, saying it could downgrade insurers, securities clearinghouses, mortgage agencies and a laundry list of other firms without a deal...
Report Finds Washington Health Care Workers Often Victims of Violence
Jul 15 2011 // The most violent job in Washington state isn’t being a police officer or a security guard. It’s working as a nurse’s aide. Seattle public radio station KUOW-FM made that finding as part of an...
Fourth Abuse Suit Filed Against Washington Diocese
Jul 15 2011 // An Oregon man has filed suit in federal court against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima, Wash., alleging he was abused as a teen by a former Catholic deacon who later became an Episcopal priest in Mexico. The lawsuit...
Wash. Workers’ Comp Prescription Drug Costs Among the Lowest
Jul 13 2011 // The high cost for prescription drugs for injured workers in some states is a major issue for policymakers, but not in Washington state, where costs were among the lowest compared to 17 other states, according to a new...
Agents Question GM Free Car Insurance Deal With MetLife Auto
Jul 12 2011 // Independent insurance agents are raising concerns over a General Motors promotion that offers car buyers in the Pacific Northwest a year of free liability and damage insurance from MetLife Auto & Home. Hoping to put...
GM to Pay Insurance for Car Buyers in Washington, Oregon
Jul 7 2011 // Drivers in Oregon and Washington who buy a new 2010, 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle between July 6 and September 6 will receive a one-year insurance policy from MetLife Auto & Home at no...
Make Employers’ Provision of Group Health Insurance Easier, Less Costly
Jul 4 2011 // More than half of all Americans receive health insurance through an employer. Let me advance a bold premise: This is not entirely a bad thing. By insuring 150 million of us, employer-based plans relieve government of the...
Washington State Patrol Accident Reports Online
Jun 27 2011 // The Washington State Patrol says people will be able to go online to request an accident report for their insurance company and received it in one to five days instead of the current four weeks. The patrol says the Web...
