Latest Washington Headlines

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

Wash. Fines Chubb & Son $250,000

Nov 28 2007 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined a New Jersey insurer and its affiliated companies $250,000 for multiple violations of Washington insurance laws discovered during a market conduct examination of...

Defeat for Insurance Industry; Wash. Voters Approve Referendum 67

Nov 18 2007 // Much to many insurance companies’ dismay, Washington voters approved Referendum 67, with 520,667 or 57 percent of voters in favor of the initiative to allow insureds to collect triple damages if their insurer...

Cashews Sold by Girl Scouts of Western Washington Recalled

Nov 12 2007 // Girl Scouts of Western Washington is recalling 10 ounce cans of Ashdon Farms cashews after small pieces of metal were found in some cans. Girls Scouts in Washington’s Pierce, Lewis, Thurston, Grays Harbor, Cowlitz,...

Alabama Outdoorsman Must Pay $1 Million for Bogus Katrina Claim

Nov 12 2007 // A federal judge has ordered jailed Ala. outdoorsman Edmond H. “Eddie” Smith IV to pay more than $1 million to an insurance firm that accused him of filing a bogus post-Hurricane Katrina damage claim for a...

Defeat for Insurance Industry; Wash. Voters Approve Referendum 67

Nov 7 2007 // Much to many insurance companies’ dismay, Washington voters approved Referendum 67 yesterday, with 520,667 or 57 percent of voters in favor of the initiative to allow insureds to collect triple damages if their...

Wash. Referendum To Be Decided by Voters Today

Nov 6 2007 // Voters are heading to the polls today in Washington, where they will decide on one of this year’s loudest election campaigns, and also one of the most expensive ballot measure races in state history. New campaign...

Security of Vermont’s Enhanced Drivers’ License Questioned

Nov 6 2007 // The technology planned for an enhanced drivers’ license system that will allow Vermonters to return to the United States from Canada without a passport is insecure and a threat to privacy, according to some computer...

Washington County Forms Special Unit for Complex Crimes

Nov 5 2007 // Washington’s King County prosecutor’s office has a new division to handle complex financial crimes. It will prosecute cases of identity theft, mortgage and insurance fraud and computer offenses. Prosecutor Norm...

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...