Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Announces Legislative Priorities
Mar 2 2009 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has published his legislative priorities for the 2009 session. One of his top priorities “is protecting consumers in the event of an emergency,” he noted on his...
Washington Considers Pay-As-You-Drive
Feb 22 2009 // Washington is the latest state that is considering implementing a pay-as-you-drive system, in which drivers would pay insurance premiums based in part on the miles driven per year. Senate Bill 5708, sponsored by Sen....
Washington Senate Democrats Want More Transparency in Rebates
Feb 18 2009 // Senate Democrats proposed increasing oversight of a Washington State business insurance rebate program, citing rebate overpayments of at least $150 million. Last week, the state Department of Labor & Industries...
Wash. Gov Wants December Storm Help for 33 Counties
Feb 13 2009 // Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire wants 33 counties to be declared disaster areas so that residents and business owners can get assistance to repair damage from December snow and storms. Preliminary state and federal damage...
Change and Protect
Feb 8 2009 // Change is coming to Washington and to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, but hopefully it’s change that will protect the status quo when it comes to insurance regulation. Last spring, the editors at...
Washington Considers Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance
Feb 6 2009 // Washington is the lastest state that is considering implementing pay-as-you-drive legislation, in which drivers would pay insurance premiums based in part on the miles driven per year. Senate Bill 5708, sponsored by Sen....
Earthquake Reveals Cracks in Washington Alert System
Feb 4 2009 // When an earthquake larger than magnitude 3 strikes the Northwest, an automated system is supposed to page University of Washington seismologists and notify emergency managers. But that’s not what happened on Jan. 30,...
Stout Named Vice President at Lockton in D.C.
Jan 27 2009 // Insurance Broker The Lockton Cos. has named Jania Stout as vice President in Washington, D.C. The Baltimore native brings to Lockton a successful track record of business development and relationship management in...
Change and Protect
Jan 25 2009 // Change is coming to Washington and to the NAIC but hopefully it’s change that will largely protect the status quo when it comes to insurance regulation. Last spring, we took it upon ourselves to urge the National...
Why a Small Hairless Lawyer Should be America’s– and Insurers’– First Pet
Jan 15 2009 // Harry Truman might have said it, Bill Clinton did quote it and George Bush, Sr. said he didn’t need the advice because he already had First Lady Barbara Bush but it simply goes like this: “If you want a friend...
Former Iowa Commissioner Vaughan Named CEO of State Regulators’ NAIC
Jan 15 2009 // Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009. Vaughan replaces Catherine J....
Washington Offers Insurance Advice for Winter Storm Victims
Jan 13 2009 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is advising consumers to assess their property damage after the latest winter storm and take steps to mitigate any further damage. “When it’s safe to do so,...
Lifelines in the Storm: Pro-Policyholder Developments in 2008
Jan 11 2009 // In light of the enormous losses and cascading failures triggered by the financial crisis, companies across the United States will be looking to their insurance policies for loss mitigation. However, recent developments in...
Washington Workers’ Comp Insurance Premiums Increasing 3%
Jan 11 2009 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) said premiums for workers’ compensation insurance will go up, on average, 3 percent in 2009. Individual employers could see their rates go up or down,...
New Employment Laws, Power Shift in Washington May Increase the Risk of Workplace Charges
Jan 11 2009 // What Insurance Professionals Need to Know to Protect Their Commercial Clients As the economy continues to falter and a new Administration takes over in Washington, the workplace is being seeded with new legal hazards for...
Washington To Hold Hearing on Purchase of National Merit Insurance
Dec 29 2008 // The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner announced it will holding a hearing at 12 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2009, to discuss the sale of Trinity Universal Insurance Co. to National Merit Insurance Co. According to the...
Ratings: ANICO, Washington Casualty, Grain Dealers, Nat’l. Guaranty, Am. Physicians
Dec 19 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today said it lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on American National Insurance Co. (ANICO) and its core subsidiaries, American National Life...
Washington Workers’ Comp Insurance Premiums Increasing 3%
Dec 4 2008 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) said premiums for workers’ compensation insurance will go up, on average, 3 percent in 2009. Individual employers could see their rates go up or down,...
Washington Not Likely to Focus Much on P/C Agents in 2009
Nov 16 2008 // Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, the 64-year-old Democrat, easily won his third term as Washington state insurance commissioner, defeating Republican John Adams, who owns a Seattle-based insurance brokerage firm 57...
Safeco and Liberty Northwest Announce New Northwest Regional Operations
Nov 14 2008 // Safeco Insurance and Liberty Northwest, both Liberty Mutual Agency Markets companies, recently announced key management appointments to lead their respective personal and commercial lines operations in their Northwest...
