Latest New Jersey Headlines

Consumer group accuses Geico, other insurers of unfair underwriting

Apr 3 2006 // News Currents A U.S. consumer group has made claims that Geico Corp. uses rate-making methods that directly base eligibility and premiums solely upon the educational background and occupation of consumers. The Consumer...

Analyst Sees Low Damage Award If Merck Loses Vioxx Case

Mar 30 2006 // If the plaintiffs in the Vioxx case currently being tried in New Jersey win, the damage awards against Merck & Co. are likely to be modest and not affect the drugmaker’s ability to manage the financial fallout...

N.J. Gov. Corzine Swears In Goldman as Insurance Commissioner

Mar 29 2006 // New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine administered the oath of office on March 24 to the new Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance Steven M. Goldman. Corzine named Goldman to the cabinet post on January 31....

Catching up with region’s insurance politics

Mar 20 2006 // In the Northeastern and Atlantic states, elected politicians are in the thick of deciding on legislation that could affect insurers, insurance agents and their insureds. New Jersey lawmakers are considering restoring...

N.J. Supreme Court Lowers Standard for Proving Insured Committed Fraud

Mar 14 2006 // The New Jersey Supreme Court has set an easier standard of proof for an insurance company suing an insured for fraud than a lower court had required. Instead of proving fraud by “clear and convincing evidence,”...

Selective Insurance Group in N.J. Makes Executive Appointments

Mar 14 2006 // Selective Insurance Group, Inc., in Branchville, N.J., announced the following executive appointments: Diederik Olijslager (Lafayette, N.J.), to vice president, Selective Insurance Group, and senior vice president, head of...

Bail for Pru Lobbyist Puts N.J. Governor in a Political Fix

Mar 9 2006 // In his first political firestorm since taking office in January, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Wednesday that he provided $5,000 in bail money to an insurance lobbyist accused of stalking a state assemblyman. “I reacted...

N.J.’s Horizon Health Plan Settles with Cardiologists on Overpayments

Mar 9 2006 // New Jersey’s largest health insurer and two physician groups have settled a lawsuit over whether hundreds of heart specialists were overpaid for services performed in 2003 and 2004. The settlement ends the case,...

Merck Defends Vioxx as ‘One of Most-Studied’ Drugs at Latest Trial

Mar 8 2006 // An attorney for Merck & Co. insisted at the start of another Vioxx trial that the company adequately investigated the drug’s safety and asserted it was heart disease and other ailments, not Vioxx, that led to...

Goldman Sworn in as Acting N.J. Insurance Commissioner

Mar 6 2006 // Steven M. Goldman was sworn in as Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance on March 1, 2006. Prior to his nomination by Governor Jon S. Corzine, Goldman was a senior member and 22-year...

N.J. Resident Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding 9/11 Victim Comp Fund

Mar 1 2006 // A former truck driver, who authorites report falsely claimed to have been injured and permanently disabled in the terror attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, was sentenced recently to 30 months in federal...

Insurers Oppose N.J. Bill Giving Chiropractors Equal Billing

Feb 24 2006 // Insurers this week testified in Trenton against a bill (A-1003) that would permit chiropractors in New Jersey to seek reimbursement for services at the same rate as licensed physicians and surgeons. The legislation would...

Hanover Transfers Discontinued N.J. Business to Proformance

Feb 21 2006 // The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Hanover Insurance Company, and some of its affiliates will transfer renewal rights for a block of certain personal lines policies to...

Fitch Affirms Ratings for CNA

Feb 17 2006 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘BBB-‘ long-term issuer rating and ‘BBB-‘ senior debt ratings of CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) and the ‘A-‘ insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings of...

N.J. court upholds legitimacy of claims-made policy where insured rejected retroactive coverage

Feb 6 2006 // In what lawyers say is a precedent-setting decision, a New Jersey court has ruled that a claims-made insurance policy that did not include retroactive coverage does not violate public policy and is enforceable. An...

N.J. Agent Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $100,000 in Premium Money

Feb 1 2006 // New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Vaughn L. McKoy reported that a Cumberland County insurance agent has pleaded guilty to theft for stealing nearly $100,000 in insurance premium money from insurance...

Wheeler Joins New Jersey’s National Atlantic as Vice President

Jan 30 2006 // National Atlantic Holdings Corp., a provider of specialized property/casualty insurance products and related insurance services based in Freehold, N.J., has appointed as Vice President Douglas Wheeler, former assistant...

The Hanover Names Sipple as Regional VP for Marine in N.Y.-N.J.

Jan 24 2006 // The Hanover Insurance Group reported that Michelle M. Sipple has been named regional vice president, marine, for the company’s New York and New Jersey region. Sipple will work out of the The Hanover’s...

Jan 22 2006 // People Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., has selected R. Steven Orr to serve as Maryland Insurance Commissioner. He succeeds Alfred W. Redmer, who resigned in October 2005 to join the private sector. Orr, 53, most...

Bryan Remains at N.J. Insurance Helm as Corzine Becomes Governor

Jan 18 2006 // New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, sworn into office in Tuesday, has yet to name several members of his cabinet, including an insurance and banking chief. Corzine did, however, announce that Acting Banking and Insurance...