Buffalo, N.Y.-based Merchants Insurance Group launched its newest insurance product in Ohio, Merchants Flexible Choice Auto, effective July 1, 2009, for new business and Sept. 1 renewals, the company announced. Merchants Flexible Choice Auto is a completely redesigned private passenger …
Texas-based independent insurance brokerage Higginbotham & Associates has appointed Michael J. Hermes as senior vice president at its Austin office. Hermes, a fixture in Austin’s insurance marketplace, will apply his 26 years’ experience in property casualty insurance to place commercial …
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has asked Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto House Bill 658, workers’ compensation legislation that PCI believes would increase the likelihood of fraudulent claims, an insurer’s exposure to lawsuits, and the need for …
According to a report from Risk Management Solutions, last week’s extremely heavy rainfall, which continued for three days over Central Europe, triggered severe flooding across parts of the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Austria and putting Hungary on a high …
A Connecticut High School teacher has been named Teacher of the Year by an insurance industry-backed group for his efforts to introduce students to careers in insurance. Gary Barcher, who has taught at Bloomfield High School since 1980, was recognized …
Citing the strain of escalating medical costs on the workers’ compensation system, increasingly intense price competition, and the uncertainty over the sustainability of the 2003-2004 legislative reforms due to recent Court decisions, Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Employers Direct has announced plans …
The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that if an employer provides an underage employee with unfettered access to alcoholic beverages, that employer is liable for any damage that occurs as a result. The Court made that ruling in Catherine …
New York City bicycle taxi regulations could be signed into law in August. Industry advocates and Councilman Leroy Comrie are pushing for tougher safety measures. They want drug testing for pedicab operators and an added layer of verification of their …
A Missouri court has temporarily blocked the firing of three administrative law judges who decide workers’ compensation cases. The judges were to be laid off by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. But Cole County Circuit Judge …
A report from Willis Re indicates that “despite predictions of dramatic rate increases to offset reinsurer losses over the preceding 12 months, July 1 reinsurance renewals saw sufficient capacity in virtually all areas and a reasonably orderly rating environment.” The …
