Latest Minnesota Headlines
All the headlines from our Minnesota Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Erie Insurance to Expand into Minnesota
Dec 10 2001 // Just months after Erie Insurance began writing insurance in Wisconsin, the property/casualty insurer announced its intention to expand operations even further into Minnesota by September 2004. This is the 12th state that...
Minnesota Commissioner Takes Action Against Retailers
Nov 20 2001 // Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein announced enforcement action against two retailers engaged in the sale of credit insurance in Minnesota. The Zale Corporation, Irving, Texas with approximately 20 stores in...
Minnesota Hearing Looks at Fight Against Fraud
Nov 14 2001 // The insurance industry called for widespread personal injury protection (PIP) insurance reform to Minnesota’s no-fault auto insurance laws during a House legislative hearing Nov. 13. The House Commerce Committee is...
Minnesota Commissioner Extends Insurance Agent Licenses
Oct 18 2001 // Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein announced that due to a strike by state employee unions that slowed license-processing procedures, insurance agent licenses that were set to expire on Oct. 31 will remain in...
Minnesota Dept. of Commerce Investigating Agents
Oct 17 2001 // The Minnesota Department of Commerce has become aware of companies and individuals targeting insurance agents to participate in the sale of non-insurance products with the guarantee of high commissions ranging from 11...
Minnesota-Based Agency Fined for Infractions
Oct 3 2001 // Ohio Department of Insurance Director Lee Covington signed a consent order last week fining Securian Financial Network Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based agency licensed in Ohio, $15,000 for engaging in insurance activity in...
Insurance Federation Elects New Officers, Board Members
Sep 28 2001 // Five insurance industry executives have been elected to the board of the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. IFM members also selected a new slate of officers to lead the organization. Bruce H. Lonnes, president and CEO of...
Commerce Commissioner Appoints Minn. Property Insurance Placement Facility Board
Jun 29 2001 // Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein announces the following appointments to the board of the Minnesota Property Insurance Placement Facility. Each appointee will begin their term on July 1, 2001 and serve until January 1,...
Company Ordered to Halt Policies in Minnesota
Jun 20 2001 // Georgia-based Econ-O-Check Corporation has been ordered to cease and desist from marketing unapproved insurance policies to Minnesota residents following an order from Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein. The...
Minn. Governor Signs Producer Licensing Legislation, Senior No-Fault Wage Benefits
May 31 2001 // Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura signed insurance producer licensing legislation that appears to meet the reciprocity requirements of the federal Graham-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act. The Act requires twenty-nine states to pass...
Workers’ Comp Reinsurance Assoc. to Refund $310 Million
Mar 16 2001 // The Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Association Board of Directors has approved a surplus distribution of $310 million to Minnesota employers and insurance companies. Including the current $310 million...
ROC Study: Texas Workers’ Comp Claim Costs Topping the Charts
Mar 5 2001 // Texas has the highest average medical costs per workers’ compensation claim of nine states according to a survey recently released by the Texas Research and Oversight Council on Workers’ Compensation. The...
Community First Acquires Wyoming, Minnesota Agencies
Jan 8 2001 // Community First Bankshares, has acquired insurance agencies in Wyoming and Minnesota through its affiliate, Community First Insurance Agencies, Inc. The acquisition of Barnard Insurance Agency, with offices in Casper and...
Minnesota Agents Association Floats Legislative Collective Bargaining Draft; Seeks Input
Jan 8 2001 // In 1900, Texas independent agents approved a plan to unionize. The plan eventually faltered at the national level, but now, more than a century later, Minnesota agents are floating a similar idea. The board of directors of...
Minnesota Agents Draft Collective Bargaining Legislation
Dec 20 2000 // The board of directors of the Minnesota Independent Insurance Agents has drafted legislation for possible introduction in the state legislature this January that would permit agents to collectively bargain the terms and...
Minnesota Agents Voice Concern Over Credit Ratings
Nov 21 2000 // A growing number of insurance companies operating in Minnesota are using credit-rating scores to establish premiums for car drivers and homeowners. This means that in certain situations people with poor credit histories...
Minnesota Follows Ohio’s Lead and Declares Credit General Insolvent
Nov 20 2000 // Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein announced that Credit General Insurance Company of Beachwood, Ohio is insolvent and should be liquidated. The Order of Liquidation, sought by the commissioner and granted by...
Insurance Federation Elects New Officer/Board Members
Sep 22 2000 // Insurance Federation Elects New Officer/Board Members Five insurance industry executives have been newly elected as members of the Board of Directors of the Insurance Federation of Minnesota at the IFM’s annual...
New Minnesota Commissioner Appointed
Aug 1 2000 // Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has appointed Jim Bernstein as state commerce commissioner. Bernstein has been temporary commissioner since February. In addition to insurance, the Commerce Department regulates banks and other...
Minnesota Tornado Damage Estimated at $8.1 Million
Jul 28 2000 // The tornado that pummeled Granite Falls, Minn. earlier this week is estimated to have caused $8.1 million in damage to homes and other property. Homeowners suffered $3 million in losses and $2.8 million in damage to...
