Latest Business Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Business Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
N.J. Examines Stop-Loss Insurance for Self-Insured Small Businesses
May 2 2012 // A growing number of small businesses in New Jersey are self-funding or self-insuring their employees’ healthcare costs, and they are opting out of paying fixed premiums for traditional health insurance plans like...
Wyoming Hires 7 Workplace Safety Employees
May 2 2012 // Wyoming has hired seven employees to do workplace safety checks with new funding from state lawmakers. The director of the Department of Workforce Services, Joan Evans, told KCWY-TV that the new employees will work under...
Mississippi Lawmakers Pass Workers’ Compensation Changes Backed by Employers
May 2 2012 // Mississippi legislators offered sharply different views of a bill they passed Monday to change the way compensation is awarded to workers injured on the job, or to survivors of those killed at work. If Republican Gov. Phil...
Main Street America Remodels Automated Commercial Auto Product
May 1 2012 // The Main Street America Group has introduced a remodeled commercial auto product to independent insurance agents who represent the super regional property/casualty insurance carrier in Arizona, Oklahoma and South...
Michigan Workplace Deaths Show Slight Dip in 2011
Apr 26 2012 // A report says fewer people died in the workplace across Michigan last year compared to 2010. The Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program reported that 141 workers died on the job in 2011 — four fewer...
Selective Reports $18.1M Q1 Profit; Commercial Lines Price Up 5.1%
Apr 26 2012 // Selective Insurance Group, headquartered in Branchville, N.J., reported $18.1 million net income for its 2012 first quarter, a 11.7-percent decrease compared to $20.5 million income reported during the prior-year...
Progressive Expands Commercial Auto Coverage Limits
Apr 23 2012 // Progressive Insurance has doubled the available liability limits of its commercial auto policies. It now offers options for $1.5 or $2 million. The expanded limits mean business owners won’t need to buy a separate...
North Carolina Employers Face Jail Time Over Uncovered Workers’ Claims
Apr 23 2012 // North Carolina officials are requiring insurers to expedite the payment of workers’ compensation patients medical and wage-loss benefits or risk being sentenced to jail. The North Carolina Industrial Commission has...
OSHA Hit for Taking Too Long to Adopt Workplace Safety Rules
Apr 23 2012 // The nation’s premier worker safety agency takes nearly eight years on average to adopt new safety regulations, government auditors said in a report. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration takes far too...
Chubb: $506M Q1 Income, Business Insurance Renewal Prices Edge Up
Apr 19 2012 // The Chubb Corporation reported $506 million in net income for the 2012 first quarter, down slightly — 0.59% — from $509 million income reported one year ago. The insurer’s underwriting profit improved...
Travelers Has $806M Q1 Income; Business Insurance Renewal Price Up 8%
Apr 19 2012 // The Travelers Companies Inc. reported $806 million in net profit for the 2012 first quarter. The first-quarter profit was down 4 percent when compared to one year ago, but the result during the year-ago period was boosted...
How to Help Small Businesses Avoid Underinsurance and Anticipate the Unexpected
Apr 16 2012 // In recent years, the United States has been impacted by devastating weather events, many unprecedented and unexpected. According to the Environment America Research and Policy Center, more than 15 million Americans live in...
Hawaii Critics Say Employer-Picked Doctors Unfair
Apr 11 2012 // Workers’ advocates claim injured Hawaii employees can’t get fair evaluations from doctors hired by employers or insurers. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported critics say the system is unfair by allowing...
Missouri House Panel to Again Consider Workplace Discrimination
Apr 11 2012 // Missouri lawmakers appear poised to take up discrimination in the workplace again, in a possible attempt to get around a veto issued by Gov. Jay Nixon. Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed a measure in March that would have required...
Kemper Changes Name for Specialty Business Unit
Apr 9 2012 // Kemper Corp. has changed the name of its Unitrin Specialty business to Kemper Specialty, effective April 9, 2012. The next step will be to rebrand the Unitrin Direct business in the near future, the company...
Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Erasing Workplace Discrimination Damages
Apr 9 2012 // Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that prohibits workers from collecting damages in employment discrimination cases. The legislation eliminates compensatory and punitive damages for acts of employment...
Hastings Mutual Recognized as a Top Employer in West Michigan
Apr 3 2012 // Hastings, Mich.-based Hastings Mutual Insurance Co. announce it has been selected as one of West Michigan’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the Michigan Business & Professional Association (MBPA)...
Arkansas Clarifies Definition of Small Employer for Healthcare Issues
Mar 30 2012 // Arkansas has clarified that it will retain the current statutory definition of a small employer as being one that retains 2 to 50 employees for purposes of small group health insurance issues. The Arkansas Insurance...
Facebook, Lawmakers Warn Employers Not to Demand Passwords
Mar 25 2012 // Facebook and lawmakers have warned employers against requesting Facebook passwords while screening job applicants, a controversial practice that underscores the blurring distinction between personal and professional lives...
Insurance Retailer GEICO Lowering Commercial Auto Rates in Texas
Mar 23 2012 // Insurance direct marketer, GEICO, has announced that it is lowering commercial auto insurance rates for business owners in Texas. Commercial insurance packages cover the cars, trucks and vans used in conducting business,...