Latest Washington Headlines

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

Property Firm Purchases Infamous AIG Party Hotel

Apr 7 2010 // Washington Holdings, a private real estate company, said Tuesday it bought the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, which became infamous after American International Group Inc executives spent lavishly there weeks after a...

When Main Street Met Washington

Apr 7 2010 // Amid wind-whipped exhaust fumes and an early March cold front, Connecticut insurance agent Michael Gergler ducks inside the lobby of the Wardman Park hotel in Washington, D.C. and surveys the lobby where roughly 150 other...

When Main Street Met Washington

Apr 5 2010 // Agents Make Grassroots Lobbying Campaign Amid wind-whipped exhaust fumes and an early March cold front, Connecticut insurance agent Michael Gergler ducks inside the lobby of the Wardman Park hotel and surveys the lobby...

When Main Street Met Washington

Apr 5 2010 // Agents Head to D.C. as Part of Grassroots Lobbying Campaign Amid wind-whipped exhaust fumes and an early March cold front, Connecticut insurance agent Michael Gergler ducks inside the lobby of the Wardman Park hotel in...

Washington Tesoro Refinery Blast That Killed 5 Under Investigation

Apr 5 2010 // A Tesoro Corp. oil refinery blast and fire that claimed five lives is now the subject of state and federal investigations. The company, and the state Department of Labor and Industries has also launched its own probe. The...

Washington P/C Premiums Totaled $9.1 Billion in 2008

Apr 2 2010 // The insurance industry provides nearly 51,000 jobsi n Washington with about a $3.2 billion payroll, according to the Northwest Insurance Council and Insurance Information Institute. In their latest report, “A Firm...

Wash. Approves JUA For Flood Insurance

Mar 22 2010 // The Washington State Senate approved a flood insurance bill that would allow the insurance commissioner to create a market assistance plan and, if necessary, a joint underwriting association if the flood insurance market...

Couple Sues Toyota on Behalf of Wash. Customers

Mar 17 2010 // A Seattle couple has sued Toyota, seeking to have the company take back the vehicle they just bought or reimburse them for lost value. Dana and Douglas Eller filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court, seeking class action...

Ratings Recap: American Community, Washington Fire, DHC Group

Mar 10 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to ‘D’ (Poor) from C+ (Marginal) and issuer credit rating to “c” from “b-” of Michigan-based American Community Mutual...

The Worst Is Yet to Come

Mar 8 2010 // Deepening State Budget Deficits in 2010 and 2011 Could Harm the Insurance Industry While 2009 was a tough year to do business, state and city leaders say 2010 and 2011 will be even tougher — the outcome of which could...

Washington Lawmakers Approve JUA For Flood Insurance

Mar 5 2010 // The Washington State Senate has approved a flood insurance bill that would allow the insurance commissioner to create a market assistance plan and, if necessary, a joint underwriting association if the flood insurance...

Poll: Hand-Held Cell-Phone Use Continues to Rise in Washington

Mar 3 2010 // As Washington state legislators consider strengthening cell-phone and texting-related laws, a recent poll by PEMCO Insurance reveals that the number of Washingtonians who admit to illegally using a cell phone without a...

Water Pipeline Protection Offered to Homeowners in Washington

Feb 25 2010 // Home Emergency Insurance Solutions will provide its Water Service Line Protection program directly to select area homeowners in Washington. The plan provides homeowners with emergency solutions for unexpected repairs to...

Washington Fined Insurers More Than $400,000 in 2009

Feb 23 2010 // Washington state insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler issued more than $400,000 in fines in 2009, as well as revoking the licenses of several insurance agents, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner...

Washington Regulator Wants Emergency Flood Insurance

Feb 21 2010 // Washington is one step closer to allowing the creation of a flood insurance joint underwriting association (JUA), a publicly sponsored, temporary, not-for-profit insurer of last resort to provide flood insurance when the...

Washington Proposal to Ban Insurers’ Use of Credit Scores Stalls

Feb 18 2010 // Washington insurers can continue to use credit scores when rating and underwriting insurance, at least for the time being. Washington Senate Bill 6252, which would have banned credit-based insurance scores, failed to come...

Washington Flood JUA Legislation Passes in House

Feb 18 2010 // Washington House passed legislation allowing for the creation of a flood insurance joint underwriting association (JUA) as an insurer of last resort for businesses in the Green River Valley. House Bill 2560, which passed...

Special Reuters Report: Inside Toyota’s Epic Breakdown

Feb 10 2010 // Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s most dominant and profitable automaker, was not accustomed to outsiders telling it what to do, let alone some obscure bureaucrat from the United States, whose own car industry was on...

Washington Closer To Creating Emergency Insurance for Flooding

Feb 10 2010 // Washington is one step closer to allowing the creation of a flood insurance joint underwriting association (JUA), a publicly sponsored, temporary, not-for-profit insurer of last resort to provide insurance when certain...

Collapse Concerns Grow as Snowstorm Slams Eastern States

Feb 8 2010 // Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. were particularly battered by a weekend snowstorm that caused massive power outages and resulted in moderate structural damage to areas in the region. At least two deaths were...