Latest Arkansas Headlines

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

Ark. Traffic Deaths Rise as Nationwide Average Drops in 2006

Jul 31 2007 // Deaths from traffic crashes in Arkansas slightly increased last year, as the nationwide average dropped, new federal statistics show. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration recorded 665 fatal crashes in...

Ark. Agents Honor Progressive’s Claims Department

Jul 31 2007 // The Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Arkansas named Progressive’s Arkansas claims unit as the 2007 “Claims Department of the Year” following a vote by the more than 250 independent insurance agency...

Burglaries at Ark. Insurance Agencies Trigger Notification Requirements

Jul 25 2007 // Following a series of burglaries at insurance agencies in Arkansas, Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman issued a reminder to all insurance companies of the notification requirements concerning security...

Business Moves

Jul 23 2007 // Republic, Southern States General Agency Dallas-based Republic Companies Inc. (Republic) acquired Southern States General Agency Inc. (SSGA) from Unitrin Inc., effective July 9. SSGA President Mickey Slaughter and his team...

Fraud Roundup

Jul 23 2007 // Cattle claims result in fraud allegations Oklahoma Insurance Department anti-fraud investigators allege that Holly Timmons Campbell committed insurance fraud by filing fraudulent cattle loss claims in Pontotoc County,...

Declarations

Jul 23 2007 // Declarations In service to their country “It is important that members of the Armed Services who enlist in, or return from, active duty are not penalized by their insurance companies for the period of time in which...

Neb. Insurer Donating $80K in Ark. in Name of Agencies, Small Business

Jul 20 2007 // Omaha, Neb.-based workers’ compensation insurer, FirstComp, is celebrating 10 years of business in Arkansas with some big checks and big thanks to independent agencies and policyholders, the company...

Makers of 2,4-D Deny Ark. Cotton Growers Crop-damage Claims

Jul 19 2007 // Five manufacturers of the herbicide 2,4-D have denied claims made in a suit by a group of 82 cotton growers in northeast Arkansas who say the companies’ products harmed last year’s crop. The lawsuit filed June...

Ark. Reminds Insurers not to Penalize Armed Services Personnel

Jul 13 2007 // The Arkansas Insurance Department issued a directive to property and casualty carriers issuing policies containing “occupancy” requirements in their underwriting standards that could adversely impact insurance...

Arkansas Promotes Worker Health Coverage Plan

Jul 11 2007 // Employees of small businesses in Arkansas who have had to go without health insurance will be able to get basic coverage under a new plan underwritten by the state and federal government. As many as 50,000 Arkansans could...

AWCC Outlines 2007 Workers’ Compensation Bills

Jul 9 2007 // On its Web site, www.awcc.state.ar.us/news.html, the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission summarized workers’ compensation acts passed by the state’s 2007, 86th General Assembly. The full text of...

Burns & Wilcox named Broker of the Year by Ark. Agents Group

Jul 9 2007 // Burns & Wilcox announced it received the 2007 Broker of the Year award from the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas (IIAA) at their 106th annual convention held in early June. Broker of the Year is awarded to a...

Ark. Agent Sentenced to Correction Facility for Insurance Fraud

Jul 6 2007 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman announced insurance agent Christy Vocque of Saline County has been sentenced to serve 60 days in a regional correction facility for committing insurance fraud. Vocque,...

Ark. Woman Sentenced to Prison for Insurance Fraud

Jul 5 2007 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman recently announced the conviction of Elesha Martin, 35, to three counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud. On June 22, 2007, Pulaski County Circuit Judge...

Former Ark. Agent Gets Jail Time for Second Fraud Conviction

Jun 25 2007 // Former Arkansas insurance agent Beverly Gowan was sentenced in White County Circuit Court to 18 months detention with the Department of Community Correction for two counts of insurance fraud and one count of Theft of...

Arkansas Program for Storm Protection Proving Popular

Jun 1 2007 // A state program to help Arkansans put safe rooms in their homes for protection from tornadoes and storms is becoming so popular officials say they have run out of money months before the budget year ends in July. The...

Ark. Warns Consumers of Organization Posing as Insurer

May 30 2007 // Another state insurance department has issued a warning about a Tennessee entity posing as an insurance company. Days after National Foundation of America (NFOA) of Franklin, Tenn., was ordered to cease and desist from the...

Officials Warn Boaters of Dangerous Flow on Arkansas River

May 29 2007 // Swift currents on the Arkansas River is continuing to pose a danger to boaters, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissued a warning as the state records more boating-related deaths this year than in all of 2006. The...

Business Moves

May 21 2007 // Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, Global Special Risks Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. (HRH) acquired the operating assets of Global Special Risks LLC, effective May 1, 2007. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Global...

Bristol West Launches Personal Auto Product in Ark.

May 1 2007 // Bristol West Holdings Inc. announced it has begun writing private passenger automobile insurance in Arkansas. Bristol West entered Arkansas by deploying Select 2.0, a segmented insurance product that utilizes the...