Consolidation Concerns
The big state agency that oversees insurance producers in New York will soon become a whole lot bigger – and that’s left a lot of agents in the Empire State wondering just how it will affect them. Later this year, …
Massachusetts Court Allows Workers’ Suit Against Contractor
A worker who was injured and the estate of another who died at a Massachusetts construction site can sue the contractor who oversaw the job — despite the fact the contractor’s insurer has already paid them workers’ comp benefits, the …
N.Y. Agents Appealing Compensation Disclosure Ruling
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) says it is moving forward with a legal appeal of a court ruling that forced agents in the state to reveal their commissions to clients. The group plans to file …
Lawsky, Wrynn to Lead New York’s Reshuffled Regulatory Arm
Benjamin M. Lawsky has been nominated as superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, the combined regulator of insurance, banking and related businesses in the Empire State. The new department — the combination of the Banking Department and State …
Pennsylvania House OKs Workers’ Comp Changes
Pennsylvania House lawmakers have approved new legislation that would allow insurers to write workers’ comp coverage to owners and principals of businesses. Agents in the state had sought the change to correct a potential gap in coverage — particularly for …
Spring Flooding Renews Concerns over National Flood Insurance Program Expiration
For agents across much of the Northeast, the last several months have brought spates of spring flooding — and has served as a reminder for what is poised to become a political battle this fall over frequent lapses and extensions …
Health of Agents
The role of health insurance agents under the new federal healthcare law is under review, again, by state and federal policymakers. Illinois Insurance Director Michael McRaith says the law’s medical loss ratio (MLR) requirement that insurers must spend 80 to …
New York Agents Want Say in State Health Exchange
Insurance agents in the Empire State are calling on lawmakers to ensure that brokers and producers have a role in the creation of the state-based health exchange mandated by federal health care reform. Those calls come after lawmakers hosted a …
Spring Flooding Renews Concerns over Flood Program
For agents across much of the Northeast, the last month has brought spates of spring flooding and storms — and has served as a reminder for what is poised to become a political battle this year over frequent lapses and …
The Hanover to Pay $510M for UK Insurer Chaucer
A half-billion dollar deal that would make Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer part of Massachusetts-based The Hanover appears all but done. Terms of the transaction, announced this morning, involve a cash-for-stock swap valued at $510 million, which The Hanover said it plans …