Latest Minnesota Headlines
All the headlines from our Minnesota Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Minn. Counties Insurance Trust Extends Meadowbrook Contract
May 15 2002 // Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc., a specialty risk management company headquartered in Southfield, Mich., has been awarded a five-year extension to its service contract with the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust...
Minn. Lawmakers Approve “Sole Basis” Restrictions on Use of Credit Scores
May 1 2002 // Insurers will not be able to use a consumer’s credit history as the sole basis for underwriting decisions under a bill approved recently by the Minnesota State Legislature, according to the American Insurance...
Legislature Creates New Fraud Unit in Minn.
Apr 11 2002 // Minnesota has taken a tougher stance against insurance fraud by establishing a fraud unit in the Department of Commerce and strengthening its laws by making it a crime to use runners and cappers to recruit...
Minn. Legislature Overrides Veto on Glass Reform
Apr 2 2002 // The Minnesota legislature has voted overwhelmingly to override Governor Jesse Ventura’s veto of legislation that bans glass dealers from offering rebates and give-away incentives. The bill (HB 2570) repeals the...
Minn. Gov. Signs Bill Banning Managed Care Services in No Fault Auto Claims
Mar 29 2002 // Minnesotans may need to brace themselves for a sharp rise in auto insurance premiums as a result of legislation recently signed by Gov. Jesse Ventura that severely restricts insurers ability to contain medical costs...
Minn. Drafts New Requirements for Mold Exclusions
Mar 27 2002 // The Minnesota Department of Commerce issued a bulletin describing new filing criteria for rate, rule and form filings by insurers that exclude loss or damage caused by mold. The department defined mold for purposes of the...
Minn. Senate Passes Glass Repair, Fraud Unit Bills
Mar 21 2002 // Incentives such as “free” steaks, that drive up insurance costs for auto glass repairs may soon be history in Minnesota if the legislature can reconcile the differences in the House and Senate versions of House...
Minn. Senate Passes Legislation Restricting Use of Credit-Based Scores
Mar 20 2002 // Legislation that would prohibit insurers from canceling or non-renewing policyholders based solely on their credit-based insurance score passed the Minnesota Senate last week. “While Senate File 2363 is an...
Minn. Commerce Commissioner Makes Appointments to Association
Mar 15 2002 // Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein announced a pair of appointments to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Association board of directors. Each will begin their term on March 15 and serve until March...
Minn. House Passes Auto Glass Reform Bill
Mar 13 2002 // Minnesota, the most expensive state in the nation to get automobile glass repaired, is advancing legislation aimed at controlling costs. The House recently passed HB 2570, which allows insurers to treat auto glass repairs...
Minn. Commerce Commissioner Makes Appointments to Auto, Workers’ Comp Boards
Mar 12 2002 // Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein recently announced appointments to both the Governing Committee of the Minnesota Automobile Insurance Plan and the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Association board...
NAII Says Minn. Dept. of Commerce is Spreading Disinformation
Mar 6 2002 // According to the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII), the Minnesota Department of Commerce is using the consumer education section of its Web site to spread disinformation regarding insurers’ use of...
Alliance Lauds Gov. Ventura’s Veto of Minn. Second-Injury Fund Bill
Feb 28 2002 // Applauding Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura’s veto of HB 351, the Alliance of American Insurers stated that the bill would have taken approximately $250 million from the reserves of the state’s Special Compensation...
Minnesota Consumers Pay too Much for Credit Insurance
Feb 22 2002 // Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein has released information that shows Minnesota consumers are paying too much for insurance policies sold as part of a credit transaction. The data also shows that more money was paid in...
Minn. House Committee Approves Scoring Bill
Feb 20 2002 // The Minnesota House Commerce committee has approved legislation that would prohibit insurers from canceling or non-renewing a consumer based only on their credit-based insurance score. The bill (HF 2492) originally banned...
IFM Reports Credit Scoring Ban Bad for Consumers
Feb 8 2002 // Credit scoring saves money for a majority of Minnesotans and is fair, Bob Johnson, executive vice president, of the Insurance Federation of Minnesota (IFM) testified Feb. 5 to a legislative panel considering a ban on...
Companies Face $10M Fine, License Revocation
Feb 7 2002 // Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jim Bernstein has charged American Bankers Insurance Company (ABIC) and American Bankers Life Assurance Company (ABLAC), both of Florida and both subsidiaries of American Bankers Insurance...
Minn. Workers’ Comp Costs Flatten
Jan 30 2002 // After five years of decline, workers’ compensation costs in Minnesota leveled-off in 2000, according to a report released by the state’s Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). The Workers’ Compensation...
Minn. Trucking Industry Hit Hard by Rising Insurance Increases
Jan 23 2002 // Minnesota’s trucking firms have been hit hard with insurance rate increases according to results of a joint survey conducted by the Minnesota Trucking Association (MTA) and the American Trucking Associations...
WCRA Reducing Reinsurance Rates
Dec 28 2001 // The Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Association (WCRA) announced it is reducing the reinsurance rates it charges to self-insured Minnesota employers and insurance companies by an average of 12 percent. The rate...