Latest Illinois Headlines
All the headlines from our Illinois Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Chicago Auto Insurance Fraud Ring Can Be Tried in Iowa: Court
Mar 28 2016 // Three people from Wisconsin or Illinois who are charged with operating a car insurance fraud ring can be prosecuted in Iowa, even though they never set foot in the state, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled. Police say the trio...
Illinois Agency Joins Missouri-Based Insurance Agency Alliance
Mar 24 2016 // Larry Goss Insurance in Mt. Vernon, Ill., has joined Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a network of 100 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Southern Illinois. Larry Goss Insurance is a full-service...
Affirmative Insurance Liquidation Hearing Set for March 24 in Illinois
Mar 22 2016 // On March 1, 2016, Affirmative Insurance Co. was declared insolvent by at least $31 million by Acting Illinois Insurance Director Anne Melissa Dowling, who filed with the Illinois Supervising Court a Complaint for...
Midwest Pounded by Tornado-Packing Storms
Mar 18 2016 // The National Weather Service confirmed that on tornadoes touched down this week in parts of eastern Iowa that also endured heavy rain and hail as large as golf balls. Tornadoes also touched down at least five times in...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Braband Insurance in Illinois
Mar 11 2016 // Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., has acquired Vincent L. Braband Insurance Inc. in Arlington Heights, Ill. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Established in 1930, Vincent L....
Lawmakers Seek Audit of Mine Cleanup Insurance Program
Mar 9 2016 // Federal auditors should examine a program that has allowed leading coal companies to lower cleanup insurance costs and could leave taxpayers on the hook if the miners declare bankruptcy, Democratic lawmakers said on...
Security Video Shows Hoverboard Catching Fire in Illinois Home
Feb 29 2016 // A security camera inside a suburban Chicago home recorded a hoverboard catching fire shortly after a child left the house, which was extensively damaged by the blaze. Homeowner Dan Perper says the video shows his...
Illinois County Seeks Insurance Recovery for Employee Fraud Loss
Feb 22 2016 // A northern Illinois county purchasing director allegedly spent more than $60,000 on personal items, according to a draft of an insurance claim Winnebago County plans to file. The Rockford Register Star reports the claim...
Demotech Affirms Ratings of Midwest Public Entity Pools
Feb 17 2016 // Ohio-based Demotech Inc. recently affirmed the financial stability ratings (FSRs) assigned to six self-funded public entity pools in the Midwest. Demotech reviews and rates more than 415 insurers, writing every line of...
Midwest Group Challenges Peabody Energy’s Plan to Self-Bond Mines
Feb 16 2016 // A Midwestern environmental group has followed through on its promise to formally challenge Peabody Energy’s ability to guarantee it has enough money for future cleanup of its Illinois and Indiana coal mines. The...
NTSB Blames Poor Oversight in Deadly Illinois Truck Crash
Feb 11 2016 // Failed safety oversight was partly to blame for a deadly crash near Chicago in which a truck driver for a company already flagged as high-risk fell asleep and plowed into emergency vehicles, a federal accident...
Illinois County Seeks Insurance Recovery for Employee Fraud Loss
Feb 9 2016 // A northern Illinois county purchasing director allegedly spent more than $60,000 on personal items, according to a draft of an insurance claim Winnebago County plans to file. The Rockford Register Star reports the claim...
Illinois-Based The Insurance House Adds Edwards
Feb 5 2016 // The Insurance House, located in Marion, Ill., has hired Meagan Edwards as a customer service representative. Edwards has been a licensed insurance agent for nearly 10 years. Founded in 1936, The Insurance House handles a...
Hub International Acquires Illinois-Based Columbian Agency
Feb 2 2016 // Insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired operations assets of the Columbian Agency (Columbian), based in New Lenox, Ill. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Columbian operations specialize...
American Family Insurance Piloting Point-Based Reward System in Illinois
Jan 26 2016 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance is introducing DreamKeep Rewards in Illinois, an insurance loyalty program designed to recognize and reward members every day for making smart decisions that protect their...
Missouri Joins Other States in Barring Insurers’ Use of Price Optimization
Jan 25 2016 // In mid-January, the Missouri Department of Insurance issued a bulletin to insurers reminding them that the rating practice generally known as “price optimization” is prohibited in the state. “Price...
Business Moves
Jan 25 2016 // Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, IHC Risk Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has agreed to buy IHC Risk Solutions and its direct employer stop loss (ESL) business from Independence Holding Co. for $152.5 million in cash. The...
Accused of Defrauding State Farm, County Exec in Illinois Quits
Jan 14 2016 // The in central Illinois has resigned in the wake of his indictment on federal fraud charges. Republican Matt Sorensen submitted a resignation letter to an executive committee meeting, The Pantagraph in Bloomington...
Obama Nominates 4 to NARAB National Producer Licensing Governing Board
Jan 12 2016 // President Barack Obama has nominated four individuals to sit on the 13-member governing board of a new national insurance producer licensing system. They are state insurance regulators from South Carolina and Minnesota and...
DSP Insurance Services Acquires Assets of Willis of Illinois’ Schaumburg Office
Jan 7 2016 // DSP Insurance Services announced it has purchased another group of assets of Willis of Illinois’ Schaumburg office. The acquisition was finalized on Dec. 31, 2015. Nancy Vatch and key staff personnel lead the team of...
