Latest Washington Headlines

NAII Speaks Out Against Washington Privacy Proposal

Feb 1 2001 // As part of a Washington coalition of insurers, banks and retailers, the National Association of Independent Insurers spoke out against a privacy bill that the organization maintains would exceed the federal standard of...

Washington Insurance Commissioner Seeks to Resolve Past Political Bickering

Jan 16 2001 // Newly elected Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler wants to regain some powers stripped away by lawmakers peeved at predecessor Deborah Senn, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News service has reported. Kreidler...

New Washington Commissioner to Be Sworn In Today

Jan 10 2001 // Washington’s new Insurance Commissioner, Mike Kreidler, is scheduled to be sworn into office during ceremonies in Olympia today. Kreidler, with more than 20 years of service to the people of Washington, will be...

Washington Report Urges International Commission to Speed Up Holocaust Claims Process, Publish Names

Jan 9 2001 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn has issued a final report on the international effort to recover Holocaust Era insurance policies, urging an international commission to speed up its claims process and force...

Microsoft Employees Sue for Racial Bias

Jan 5 2001 // A $5-billion lawsuit, filed Jan. 3 in U.S. District Court in Washington, is the latest headache for Microsoft Corp. Seven current and former Microsoft employees are accusing the software giant of racial bias, including...

HOLOCAUST PROGRESS REPORT

Nov 13 2000 // Deborah Senn, Insurance Commissioner of Washington State, announced that she will hold a public hearing on Nov. 20 to assess the progress that European insurance companies are making in the international effort to...

Washington State Commissioner Requests Holocaust Progress Report

Nov 7 2000 // Deborah Senn, Insurance Commissioner of Washington, announced that she will hold a public hearing on Nov. 20 to assess the progress that European insurance companies are making in the international effort to compensate...

Senn Defeated in Washington Senate Primary

Sep 21 2000 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn, vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate, was defeated in Tuesdays Democratic primary by Internet software millionaire Maria Cantwell. Cantwell, riding the surge of a $5 million...

Senn Orders Investigation of Improper Denial of Auto Injury Claims

Jul 19 2000 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn has ordered her staff to investigate national allegations that auto insurers rely on “medical reviews” performed by laypersons to deny insurance benefits to...

Washington D.C. Commercial Deregulation Bill Passes

Jul 13 2000 // Legislation to reduce government regulation of commercial insurance in Washington D.C. was approved by the District of Columbia Council. Under the legislation, large commercial risks are exempt from filing requirements for...

Jul 10 2000 // The fall of California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush was painful to watch. There was no quick, quiet exit. It was a drawn-out, three-month ordeal documented and driven day by day by the Los Angeles Times and the...

Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Seen Favorably by Industry

Jun 27 2000 // The Washington State Supreme Court’s unanimous decision affirming a lower court’s ruling that said insurers need not include all possible reasons for denying a claim when determining if they have a duty to...

Making a Sales Call on Capitol Hill

May 15 2000 // “You’ve got to go to this conference, you can’t miss it,” IIAA vice president-public affairs Jeff Myers told me repeatedly. So, on April 30 I hopped on a red-eye flight to attend the Independent...

Clinton Speaks at IIAA Legislative Conference

May 4 2000 // President Bill Clinton told independent insurance agents from around the nation that a tax credit for long-term care, Medicare prescription drug coverage and improvements in health care that will result in Americans living...

WORKERS’ COMP MARKET OVERVIEW

Apr 3 2000 // CALIFORNIA STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS By Sky Barnhart “After five years of product being given away, it’s a crazy, crazy market, and it’s put a lot of people on the producers’ side out of...