Latest Business Insurance Headlines

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

Soft Market Has Hit Bottom for Commercial Lines, New RIMS Survey Says

Nov 16 2011 // Risk and Insurance Management Society’s latest survey found average renewal premium rates rising in three out of the four business lines it tracked. This “strongly suggests” that an eight-year period of...

Small Business Owners Report High Trust in Agents, Survey Reports

Nov 14 2011 // Small business owners trust their independent insurance agents and commercial insurance carriers more than other financial services businesses, a new study reports. The study, commissioned by The Hanover Insurance Group...

Oregon’s Consumer and Business Department Names Premium Assessment Rate

Nov 14 2011 // An assessment rate of direct earned premium is necessary for the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services to carry out its statutory responsibility to regulate, administer, and enforce the workers’...

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Hits New Low

Nov 14 2011 // The percentage of Americans who have health insurance through their employer slipped to a new low of 44.5 percent in the third quarter, a drop of over 5 percentage points in three years, according to a poll released...

Utica National Launches Cybersurance for Small Businesses

Oct 28 2011 // Between 2005 and 2010, more than 350 million personal records were exposed in reported data breaches alone. Those numbers include data, privacy and security breaches by cyber-criminals accessing sensitive company and...

Ohio Public Employer Workers’ Comp Rates Falling

Oct 28 2011 // Ohio’s 3,900 public employer taxing districts will pay an estimated $22 million less for workers’ compensation coverage next year following tadecision by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC)...

Ohio Businesses Awarded More Than $200K for Workplace Safety

Oct 27 2011 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) reported that 10 Ohio businesses received more than $217,000 in safety intervention grants in September to improve workplace safety. The Safety Intervention Grant...

Chartis Appoints Chief Underwriting Officer for Global Commercial Unit

Oct 26 2011 // Chartis has appointed Tim Carter as chief underwriting officer for the company’s global commercial insurance unit. He will be responsible for underwriting leadership, strategy and governance for the financial lines,...

U.S. Offering Small Businesses Free Cyber Security Tool

Oct 25 2011 // The U.S. government is making it easier for small businesses to beef up defenses against cyber criminals through a free, online tool, the top U.S. communications regulator said Monday. The Small Biz Cyber Planner will...

Workplace Deaths Double in West Virginia

Oct 19 2011 // Fatal on-the-job incidents in West Virginia more than doubled in 2010 compared to the previous year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said 95 workers were killed in workplace incidents, up from 41 in 2009. It’s...

Oklahoma Workplace Deaths Up in 2010, as Jobs Added

Oct 17 2011 // Oklahoma workplace deaths rose 11 percent last year, but the increase was likely caused by people returning to work following the steep economic downturn of the year before, a federal official said. There were 91...

Ohio New Employer Comp Program Approved

Oct 17 2011 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) board of directors has approved the creation of Grow Ohio, a program targeted toward job creation by lowering workers’ comp costs for employers new to Ohio, agency...

Facebook Policies Tricky for Employers, Employees

Oct 17 2011 // In the age of instant tweets and impulsive Facebook posts, some companies are still trying to figure out how they can limit what their employees say about work online without running afoul of the law. Confusion about what...

Florida Commercial Lines Deregulation Law Takes Effect

Oct 17 2011 // Commercial insurers in Florida no longer have to seek prior approval from state regulators before changing some of the rates they charge under a new law that took effect October 1. Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers...

Boeing Arrest Points to Workplace Drug Problem

Oct 4 2011 // The arrest of more than three dozen people on drug charges at a Boeing military aircraft plant highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by U.S. workers, according to experts. Federal authorities last...

NFIB, EMPLOYERS Expand WC Program to Eight Additional States

Oct 3 2011 // The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has extended its discounted workers’ compensation coverage benefits to its members in Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Arkansas...

Workplace Deaths Drop 25% in Missouri

Oct 3 2011 // Fewer people are dying on the job in Missouri. The Department of Labor announced that there were 107 fatal work injuries in 2010 in Missouri, down 25 percent from 2009. Sixty of the victims died after being struck by...

Florida Commercial Lines Deregulation Law Takes Effect

Oct 3 2011 // Commercial insurers in Florida will no longer have to seek prior approval from state regulators before changing some of the rates they charge under a new law that took effect October 1. Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers...

Program to Lower Workers’ Comp Rates for New Employers in Ohio Approved

Oct 3 2011 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) board of directors has approved the creation of Grow Ohio, a program targeted toward job creation by lowering workers’ comp costs for employers new to Ohio, agency...

Virginia Workplace Deaths Decline

Oct 3 2011 // The number of workplace fatalities in Virginia last year fell to the lowest level since the state began reporting such data in 1992. The number of fatalities fell to 104 from 119 in 2009. The state Department of Labor and...