Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ill. Mayor Headed to Washington to Seek Aid
Mar 6 2008 // Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy is heading for Washington D.C. to answer questions, describe the situation and see if there is anything else he or the city can do in order to receive a federal disaster declaration. McCoy met...
Insurance Among Washingtonians’ Top 20 Complaints
Mar 4 2008 // Washington consumers filed 19,686 complaints with the Attorney General’s Office in 2007, with insurance ranking among the top 20 complaints. Complaints about collections agencies climbed to the No. 2 spot, bumping...
Wash. House OKs Flood Aid
Feb 28 2008 // Washington’s House has unanimously approved millions in flood-prevention projects in the Chehalis River basin. The measure appropriates $50 million for the state and local share of a major flood project, including...
Wash. Questions Blue Cross Over Health Plan Subsidizing in Ariz.
Feb 28 2008 // Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says he’s troubled by the appearance that Premera Blue Cross is subsidizing its Arizona health plan at the expense of policyholders in Washington. The Washington-based nonprofit...
Insurers Criticize Proposed Washington Auto Glass Repair Bill
Feb 24 2008 // Legislation approved in early February by the Washington House of Representatives is unnecessary and limits consumer choice, according to the American Insurance Association (AIA). “Policymakers just enacted a law in...
Caremark to Pay $41 Million in Settlement to Washington, Other States
Feb 19 2008 // Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna announced that Washington will receive nearly $1.7 million as part of a $41 million settlement between 29 states and Caremark Rx, LLC, one of the nation’s largest...
BOP Opportunities Abound in Fla., Ga., N.C., Texas and Wash.
Feb 10 2008 // The U.S. business owners policy (BOP) market consists of nearly 21 million enterprises and produces more than $20 billion in premiums. Within this broad market sector, 44 percent of the premium opportunity is concentrated...
AIA Criticizes Proposed Washington Auto Glass Repair Bill
Feb 8 2008 // Legislation approved Monday by the Washington House of Representatives is unnecessary and limits consumer choice, says the American Insurance Association (AIA). “Policymakers just enacted a law in 2007, SB 5052, that...
Lawmakers Look to Help December Flood Victims
Feb 4 2008 // There’s silence in John Brunoff’s Washington dairy farm, except for the sound of a lone worker hosing an empty 5,000-gallon milk tank. Just nine weeks ago, more than 270 cows filled this organic dairy farm with...
Wash. Regulator Gets More Authority Over Health Insurance
Feb 1 2008 // The state Senate approved the bill giving the insurance commissioner more authority over individual health insurance policies. The measure is also expected to pass the House. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler requested...
Maryland County Proposal Calls for Contracts for Domestic Workers
Feb 1 2008 // Lawmakers in a suburban Washington, D.C. county said this week that domestic workers and their employers should be required to sign contracts to ensure the workers receive fair wages, overtime and other protections against...
Former Wash. Mayor, Ex-state Trooper Convicted of Fraud
Jan 31 2008 // A former Westport, Wash., mayor and ex-state trooper has been convicted of involvement in a scheme to commit insurance fraud, a case involving a nonexistent 1949 Chevrolet Woody and a dead State Patrol sergeant. Douglas...
Wash. AG Supporting Cell Phone Privacy, Internet Safety and Ethics Bills
Jan 29 2008 // Five bills requested by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna are scheduled for public hearings today and Wednesday of this week. The bills would help keep cell phone numbers private, make it a crime to view child...
Declarations
Jan 27 2008 // Startling Results “We wanted to know what these insurance agents see for 2008, and the results were more than a little startling.” —Joe Wheeler, vice president of Self Insured Solutions (SIS), commenting on a...
Physicians Insurance to Reduce Rates for Medical Malpractice in Washington
Jan 27 2008 // Washington’s largest writer of medical malpractice coverage for physicians and surgeons has reduced premiums for 2008 by 12.5 percent, following what appears to be a record-setting year of profits for the company in...
The Pressure’s On
Jan 27 2008 // Washington State’s Kreidler believes now’s the time for the industry to face climate change Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has proven adept at balancing the many demands placed upon state...
D.C. to Appeal Revised Flood maps
Jan 25 2008 // The District of Columbia is planning to challenge new maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would designate a broad section of the city’s center a flood zone. The proposed new flood zone is several...
Wash. AG Proposes Identity Theft Bill
Jan 25 2008 // A bill requested by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna to make it easier to prosecute identity theft cases is scheduled for a public hearing today before the House Judiciary Committee. “Records custodians...
Wash. Regulator Has Big Ideas for Health Care
Jan 15 2008 // Hoping to speed up the pace of health care reform, the state insurance commissioner has stepped from the bureaucratic supporting cast with a big idea: take over the market for “catastrophic” insurance,...
Industry, Residents Assessing West’s Winter Storm Damage
Jan 13 2008 // While it’s too soon to tally insured loss estimates from early winter storms that struck the West in January, residents who fled their homes due to flooding are facing damages, all while the National Weather Service...
