Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Editor’s Note: In agents’ hands
Nov 4 2007 // More members of Congress hail from backgrounds as state legislators than any other occupation. This means that the exposure of these former state-turned-federal lawmakers to insurance issues typically involved auto...
Editor’s Note: In agents’ hands
Nov 4 2007 // More members of Congress hail from backgrounds as state legislators than any other occupation. This means that the exposure of these former state-turned-federal lawmakers to insurance issues typically involved auto...
Customers Concerned About Wash. Referendum
Nov 4 2007 // Some Washington customers of State Farm insurance say a letter from the company about Referendum 67 seemed more like a threat than voter information. “Referendum 67 could cost your family as much as $205 a year in...
Washington Medical Malpractice Claims Decreasing
Nov 4 2007 // A medical malpractice report on closed claims data indicates that claims are down in Washington. This is the third medical malpractice closed claim report issued by state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. It analyzes...
Off-year election 2007 could provide glimpse into 2008
Oct 27 2007 // This fall is an off-year election season with only a handful of federal races and most state houses gearing up for contests in 2008. However there are some races — a hotly-debated referendum in Washington and key...
Insurance Customers Concerned about WA Referendum Letters
Oct 22 2007 // Some Washington customers of State Farm insurance say a letter from the company about Referendum 67 seemed more like a threat than voter information. “Referendum 67 could cost your family as much as $205 a year in...
Wash.’s Gregoire Seeks Disaster Declaration for Crop Damage
Oct 12 2007 // Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has asked that 10 counties be declared federal disaster areas because of crop damage from drought and wildfires started by lightning. Low-interest federal loans to hard-hit farmers under a...
Washington Casualty Earns Reinstatement of License in Ore.
Oct 10 2007 // Washington Casualty Company (WCC), a medical professional liability firm, recently announced that it has earned the reinstatement of its license to underwrite insurance in Oregon. The announcement coincides with the...
ID Fraud Touches 250,000 Washingtonians Per Year
Oct 9 2007 // Criminal activity in identity fraud touches more than a quarter of a million victims each year in Washington state, and “sucks” well more than $1 billion from the state’s economy, according to...
Washington insurers, trail lawyers at odds over treble damages
Oct 8 2007 // Study says Referendum 67 could cost $650 million With millions in campaign contributions and plenty of name-calling, trial lawyers and insurance companies in Washington are doing their best to spice up this fall’s...
Washington insurers, trail lawyers at odds over treble damages
Oct 8 2007 // With millions in campaign contributions and plenty of name-calling, trial lawyers and insurance companies in Washington are doing their best to spice up this fall’s otherwise ho-hum statewide vote. At issue is...
Washington Casualty Reinstated in Oregon
Oct 5 2007 // Medical professional liability insurer Washington Casualty Co. announced that it has earned the reinstatement of its license to underwrite insurance in Oregon, as determined by the Oregon Department of Insurance. The...
Washington Man Sentenced for Defrauding Workers’ Comp System
Oct 3 2007 // Willard Leech of Bellingham, Wash., has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and 12 months of community supervision for illegally collecting workers’ compensation wage-replacement benefits while working at another...
Washington’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $8.07
Oct 2 2007 // Washington’s minimum wage will increase 14 cents to $8.07 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recalculates the state’s minimum wage each year in September as...
More States Join Centralized Insurer Market Conduct Exam Initiative
Sep 30 2007 // Alabama, California, Montana, Rhode Island and Washington will begin requiring insurance companies to file annual statement data as part of a growing effort to make market conduct exams more efficient that now includes 30...
Washington Casualty Adds New Managing Director
Sep 25 2007 // Medical professional liability insurer Washington Casualty Co. (WCC), today announced it has named Mike Rutz to the newly created position of managing director. WCC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lansing, Mich.-based...
Wash. wants comp rate increase
Sep 24 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has proposed raising workers’ compensation rates 3.2 percent in 2008, with the average premium increasing by just more than 2 cents per hour worked. L&I...
Washington’s Trial Bar, Insurers Roll Up Sleeves for Ref. 67 Fight
Sep 24 2007 // Who says an off-year election has to be boring? With millions in campaign contributions, weeks of bruising TV ads and plenty of name-calling, trial lawyers and insurance companies are doing their best to spice up this...
Study: Washington’s Referendum 67 Could Cost Consumers $650 Million
Sep 24 2007 // Referendum 67, a heavily debated law that would allow consumers to collect triple damages if their insurer unreasonably denies a claim or violates unfair practice rules, is expected to raise insurance rates for Washington...
Children Could Be Getting Soft-Soled Clogs Caught in Escalators
Sep 24 2007 // At rail stations and shopping malls around the world, reports are popping up of people, particularly young children, getting their toes caught in escalators. The one common theme seems to be the clunky, soft-soled clogs...
