Latest Business Insurance Headlines

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

Liberty Northwest Develops Safety Program for Montana Employers

Jan 28 2011 // Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Corp. regional company, has announced an overall retro rating adjustment of nearly 28 percent in workers’ compensation insurance premium adjustments and premium surcharge...

Massachusetts Allows for Terrorism Exclusion in Commercial Insurance

Jan 28 2011 // Commercial property insurers in Massachusetts will be allowed to exclude terrorism coverage from commercial fire insurance policies under a new law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick. The law modifies the standard fire insurance...

XL Insurance Names Báez-Safa Chief U/W Officer, Professional Lines Commercial Risk

Jan 28 2011 // XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of the XL Group, announced the appointment of Cristiana Báez-Safa as Chief Underwriting Officer Professional Lines for its Commercial Risk business outside of North America....

Hiscox USA Expands Direct, Online Coverage for Small Businesses to NY, Fla.

Jan 26 2011 // Hiscox USA has expanded its small business insurance offering direct and online to professional services businesses with 10 employees or less in New York and Florida. The metro areas in southern New York and southern...

Missouri House Approves Tax Break for Small Businesses

Jan 21 2011 // Missouri House members have given first-round approval to a tax break for small businesses, which is a priority for the chamber’s Republican leaders. The businesses would be eligible for a $10,000 tax deduction for...

Welch Departs From Employers Holdings

Jan 19 2011 // Reno, Nev.-based Employers Holdings Inc. has announced that the company and Martin J. Welch have mutually agreed to the separation of his employment as the chief operating officer and president of Employers Insurance...

Workplace Deaths Rise in North Carolina; Overall Injury Rate Drops

Jan 19 2011 // There were 48 fatal workplace accidents in North Carolina in 2010, a tally that is up from 34 in the previous year but below the five-year average of 53.2. At the same time, the state’s overall injury and illness...

Tower Group Buys Renewal Rights For Some of Navigators Mid-Market Biz

Jan 18 2011 // Tower Group has acquired the renewal rights to the middle market commercial package and commercial auto business of Navigators. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The portfolio of policies sold by New York-based...

Small Businesses in Hiring Mood? It’s Hard to Figure

Jan 13 2011 // U.S. small businesses appear to be on the cusp of a mini hiring revival that may be a bit stronger than the Labor Department’s data suggests. Three sets of private sector surveys released this month showed a pick-up...

CNA Makes Changes to Commercial Insurance Team in Chicago

Jan 12 2011 // CNA Financial Corp. announced it has expanded its Commercial Insurance management team. Pat O’Connor will join the global business insurer as senior vice president of its Mono-line Property unit, with oversight of...

As Small Business Shrinks, Small P/C Insurers Lose

Jan 11 2011 // The property/casualty small business sector—those accounts with less than 50 employees—has shrunk substantially since 2007, and there has been a dramatic shift in market share among small, mid-sized and large...

Top Regulatory Changes Employers Should Know in 2011

Jan 10 2011 // The new year ushers in regulatory, compliance and legislative changes that affect every small business. According to payroll and human resource services provider Paychex, Inc., these 11 issues top the list of business...

Employers With Foreign Labor Face Increased Liability

Jan 10 2011 // Insurance Considerations for Agents Insuring Agricultural Employers Every state has been impacted by Arizona’s immigration law, as there is now a cry for immigration reform. Employers who hire a questionable...

Two Missouri Employers Jailed for Noncompliance with OSHA Citations

Jan 10 2011 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in late December arrested two St. Louis, Mo., employers for failing to comply with court sanctions enforcing OSHA citations. Brian Andre,...

Starr Indemnity Launches Primary Commercial Auto Facility

Jan 10 2011 // Starr Indemnity & Liability Company, Inc. (Starr Indemnity) has launched primary commercial auto to complete their primary casualty offerings. “With the introduction of our primary auto capabilities, Starr...

Obesity Increases the Risk of Disabling Workplace Injuries

Dec 31 2010 // Recent research confirms anecdotal data that work-related injuries are far more costly if an injured worker is obese. In fact, a claim with an obese diagnosis can be 30 times to 60 times more expensive than a comparable...

Louisiana’s Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Adds 3 to Management Team

Dec 30 2010 // Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Co., a Louisiana-based workers’ compensation insurer, has added the following individuals to its management team: Dave Lorino has been named vice president of Claims for Stonetrust....

2 Missouri Employers Jailed for Noncompliance With OSHA Citations

Dec 30 2010 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the arrest of two St. Louis, Mo., employers for failing to comply with court sanctions enforcing OSHA citations. Brian Andre,...

Humana Names Bagby as Louisiana Commercial Market President

Dec 21 2010 // Humana Inc. named Rhonda Bagby president of its Louisiana commercial operations. As Humana’s senior commercial executive for Louisiana, based in New Orleans, Bagby is responsible for the state’s overall...

CNA Names Grieco Underwriting VP for Small Business

Dec 16 2010 // CNA appointed Scott Grieco as vice president of underwriting for its small business unit. Grieco will be lead underwriting strategies for the unit. He has over 26 years of insurance industry experience, including...