Latest Business Insurance Headlines

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

Court: Last Employer Responsible for Asbestos Exposure

Dec 15 2010 // A shipyard carpenter’s last employer is liable for his asbestos exposure when it is unable to rebut with substantial evidence the presumption that the most recent employer is responsible for occupational diseases,...

Heffernan Insurance Adds Hight to Commercial Property/Casualty Team

Dec 10 2010 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has added Melodie Hight in its Portland, Ore., office as a producer in Commercial Property and Casualty Insurance. Hight has more than 20 years in commercial property and casualty insurance. She...

Illinois Program to Provide $5M in Loans for Small Businesses

Dec 10 2010 // New and existing small businesses can apply for $5 million in loans through an Illinois program aimed at creating and retaining jobs in urban areas. Illinois economic director Warren Ribley announced the Community...

California Employers See Lower Ex-Mods With New Rating Formula

Dec 8 2010 // California employers, by and large, saw lower experience modifications in 2010, thanks to changes to the experience rating formula. On Nov. 9, 2009, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner issued a decision...

Ho-Ho-Holidays Can Be Problem for Small Businesses

Dec 8 2010 // The holiday season isn’t necessarily the most joyous time of the year for small businesses. Holiday parties and celebrations can turn unpleasant if employees or guests misbehave. Productivity can drop when employees...

A.M. Best Downgrades Michigan Commercial Insurance Mutual

Dec 8 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating to “bbb” from “a-” of Michigan Commercial Insurance Mutual (MCIM) in Lansing,...

AAIS to File Revised, Expanded Commercial Umbrella Program

Dec 7 2010 // The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) is initiating a countrywide filing of a revised, expanded commercial umbrella program. The program’s policy forms will be filed with a proposed effective date of...

Employees Beware: Employers Monitor Twitter, Facebook, Internet Posts

Dec 5 2010 // Those photos on Facebook showing you palling around with drunks, the raunchy joke you posted on Twitter, and those links to politically incorrect groups on your personal web site -all of this information can now become...

Network Matches At-Home Insurance Retirees with Employers

Dec 5 2010 // Introducing WAHVE, Where Outsourcing Is Not a Foreign Concept As more and more experienced insurance agency and carrier employees discover their retirement income isn’t what they thought it would be, many are happy...

Employers With Foreign Labor Face Increased Liability

Dec 5 2010 // Insurance Considerations for Agents Insuring Agricultural Employer Every state has been impacted by Arizona’s immigration law, as there is now a cry for immigration reform. Employers who hire a questionable workforce...

Michigan Jury Hears Case on Employer’s Liability for Drunk Employee

Dec 2 2010 // Should an employer be held liable for a fatal car crash caused by a drunken driver who was an executive of the firm? A federal jury in Michigan is hearing the wrongful death suit brought by Gary Weinstein, whose wife and...

Texas Employers Now Can Report Workers’ Comp Status Online

Nov 24 2010 // State law requires Texas employers who do not carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage to report their non-coverage status and work-related injuries and illnesses to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division...

Hiscox/Employers Partner to Provide Workers’ Comp to Small Businesses

Nov 18 2010 // Hiscox USA and Reno, Nev.-based Employers have joined forces to provide small businesses workers’ compensation insurance through Hiscox Small Business Insurance. The offering is direct-to-small business, online...

Employer Leave of Absence, Return-to-Work Process a Potential Minefield

Nov 17 2010 // Managing multiple leaves of absence and the return-to-work process may require navigating a maze of complementary and conflicting requirements. Yet it’s important to manage these decisions properly, as appropriate...

Soft Commercial Lines Market to Persist: Marsh

Nov 17 2010 // Soft U.S. commercial insurance market conditions are expected to persist through the fourth quarter of 2010, according to preliminary rate information published by Marsh. So far in the fourth quarter, Marsh said its...

Employers Given More Leeway to Switch Providers Under Obamacare

Nov 16 2010 // U.S. employers offering health insurance to workers will not lose protected status under the new healthcare law if they decide to switch healthcare plan providers, U.S. administration officials said Monday. At issue is...

Calif. Workplace Injuries on Decline

Nov 11 2010 // While the recession drove California’s average annual employment down 3.7 percent in 2009, the number of work injuries and illnesses reported by California employers showed an even sharper decline, falling 9.2...

Business Risk Partners Offers Distressed Banks Coverage

Nov 11 2010 // For banks under regulatory oversight, Business Risk Partners (BRP) is now offering professional and management liability protections for distressed community banks, including hard-to-find Regulatory Defense Cover for...

2009 Workplace Injury, Illness Rates Tumble in Indiana

Nov 5 2010 // State officials say Indiana’s nonfatal workplace injury and illness rate tumbled 12 percent last year compared to 2008. The state Department of Labor says the rate of occupational illnesses and injuries dropped to...

Bradway Joins Business Risk Partners

Nov 4 2010 // Connecticut-based managing general agency Business Risk Partners has named Mark Bradway as director of broker relations. He has worked in specialty liability for over a decade. He began his career at wholesale insurance...