Latest Washington Headlines

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

Thousands of Washington Homes Threatened by Faulty Fire Sprinklers

Jul 11 2007 // Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and the Office of the State Fire Marshal are warning Washington apartment homes and hotels that their fire sprinkler systems may be defective. The Washington State Fire...

Miami, Okla., Residents Fear They May not be Able to Return Home

Jul 11 2007 // Sharon Glass fought back tears after hearing she may not be able to return to her flood-damaged home. “I just wonder how a judgment call could be made before FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) officials have...

Poll: Washington Driver Speed Connected to Household Income

Jul 2 2007 // Washington drivers who earn a household income of more than $75,000 are more likely than their counterparts to speed and talk on a cell phone, according to data from a poll conducted by PEMCO Insurance...

Washington takes workers’ comp rate holiday

Jul 2 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries announced that beginning July 1, employers can take a workers’ compensation premium partial rate holiday. The rate holiday means that most Washington employers...

News Currents

Jul 2 2007 // Washington takes workers’ comp rate holiday Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries announced that beginning July 1, employers can take a workers’ compensation premium partial rate holiday. The...

Wash. Workers’ Comp Benefits to Increase 5.4%

Jun 29 2007 // Workers currently receiving Washington workers’ compensation wage-replacement or pension benefits will receive a 5.445 percent cost-of-living increase that went into effect July 1. State law requires that benefits be...

Washington Casualty Co. Reinstated by Idaho Department

Jun 25 2007 // FinCor Holdings Inc. announced on Friday, June 22 that its Washington Casualty Co. (WCC) subsidiary has had its license to underwrite insurance fully reinstated in Idaho by the Idaho Department of Insurance. FinCor...

Washington Levies Fines for Violations

Jun 25 2007 // A Los Angeles insurer has been fined $100,000 for multiple violations of Washington insurance laws discovered during a market conduct examination of the company by the Washington Office of the Insurance...

Washington L&I Announces Workers’ Comp Rate Holiday

Jun 22 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has announced that beginning July 1, and over the next six months, employers and workers in the state will save an estimated $315 million in workers’ compensation...

Wash. issues emergency rule on heat illness

Jun 18 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has issued an emergency rule, requiring employers to take precautions to prevent heat-related illness for anyone working outdoors in hot weather. This is the second...

Washington Man Denies Killing Girl for Insurance Money

Jun 15 2007 // An Auburn-area, Wash., man accused of drowning his 3-year-old stepdaughter to collect on a $200,000 life insurance policy pleaded innocent in King County Superior Court and remained in jail on $5 million bail. Joel...

Construction Boom Leading to More Wash. Job-Site Accidents, Death

Jun 13 2007 // The number of workplace deaths and accidents is on the rise as construction continues its boom in King County, Wash., according to state statistics. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that accidents and deaths on the...

Stoner Named Deputy Director for Washington L&I

Jun 11 2007 // Vernon Stoner, a former deputy chief executive officer for Sound Transit and formerly the city manager in Vancouver and Lacey, has been named deputy director for operations at the Washington Department of Labor and...

PIA Washington/Alaska Recognizes Officers, Award Winners

Jun 8 2007 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Washington/Alaska (PIA) recently elected Rich Biggs as its new president and elected a new board of directors at its 41st Annual Conference and Trade Show. New officers and directors...

Sale of Washington-Based Unigard Insurers Approved

Jun 6 2007 // Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner has approved the sale of three Bellevue, Wash.-based property and casualty insurance companies to an Austrailian holding company. Officials said Unigard Insurance...

Washington Insurance Fair Conduct Act becomes law

Jun 4 2007 // Insurance industry associations are criticizing Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire for signing into law the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, a measure they say will raise insurance costs. The law, which will take effect on July 22,...

News Currents

Jun 4 2007 // Washington Insurance Fair Conduct Act becomes law Insurance industry associations are criticizing Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire for signing into law the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, a measure they say will raise insurance...

Washington seeks worker heroes, heroines

Jun 4 2007 // Washington’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board is accepting nominations for the governor’s annual lifesaving awards. All Washington workers covered by the workers’ compensation system or a...

Washington Issues Emergency Rule on Heat-Related Illness

Jun 1 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has issued an emergency rule, requiring employers to take precautions to prevent heat-related illness for anyone working outdoors in hot weather. This is the...

Wash. Sets Hearing for Purchase of Unigard Insurers

May 23 2007 // Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner has scheduled a May 29, 2007, hearing in Tumwater, Wash., to consider an Austrialian group’s request to purchase three Washington-based property and casualty...