Latest North Carolina Headlines

All the headlines from our North Carolina Topic Page, ordered by recency.

N.C. Agenda Tight, No Time for Golf!

Mar 21 2005 // I was surprised and impressed by the efficiency and expertise shown by everyone participating in the March 3-6 National Conference of Insurance Legislators meetings in Hilton Head, S.C. When I heard hundreds of...

Workers’ Comp Varies Widely; Reforms Slow to Enact, Enforce

Mar 21 2005 // Employer responsibility for the expense of accidents and in some cases occupational illnesses, varies from state to state. Em-ployers must provide reasonable information, rules, supervision, training and safety. The word...

N.C. Commission, Rate Bureau Reach Compromise; Agree on 2.2 Percent Average Policy Increase

Mar 18 2005 // A compromise agreement approving a 2.2 percent average statewide homeowners premium increase has been reached between the North Carolina Insurance Commission and the North Carolina Rate Bureau. The Bureau, an independent...

N.C. MGA Goes High Tech With Electronic Imaging, Document Management

Mar 11 2005 // Blue Goose Agency Services, an application service provider hosting and technology services provider to the managed general agency and general agency market, has announced the successful implementation of iCHANNEL their...

Ala., N.C. Agents Join Assurex Global Network

Feb 24 2005 // Cobbs Allen & Hall Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., and Senn Dunn, of Greensboro, N.C. have been accepted as members of Assurex Global of Columbus, Ohio, the world’s largest insurance association designed specifically...

N.C. Insurance Commission Meets With Delegates From the Former Soviet Union

Feb 23 2005 // The North Carolina Insurance Commission shared information about the insurance industry and insurance regulation last week in Raleigh as it welcomed 19 hospital administrators and head physicians from Armenia, Azerbijian,...

N.C. SENATE MIGHT CAP MED MAL AWARDS

Feb 21 2005 // The North Carolina Senate is again considering legislation to cap jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. Sen. Robert Pittenger, R-Mecklenburg, a cap proponent, said limiting damages is an effective way to reduce...

N.C. Agent Fined $220,000, Sentenced to Six Months in Jail for Embezzlement

Feb 18 2005 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long has announced the conclusion of an insurance fraud case against Eugenie H. Johnson of Fayetteville, who was accused of embezzling more than $220,000 from an insurance agency...

N.C. DOI Scrutinizing Rate Bureau’s Request to Increase Auto Premiums

Feb 7 2005 // The request by the North Carolina Rate Bureau to increase auto insurance rates in North Carolina is being closely scrutinized by the North Carolina Department of Insurance according to Chrissy Pearson, a DOI...

N.C. Price-Fixing Investigated

Feb 7 2005 // North Carolina insurance regulators, under the direction of Insurance Commissioner Jim Long are investigating as many as 10 insurance companies to determine if they conspired in a price-fixing scheme. The Insurance...

N.C. Regulators Want Bite of State Farm’s ‘Jumbo CDs’

Feb 3 2005 // The State Farm Insurance Bank is embroiled in a turf war which pits North Carolina regulators and the federal Office of Thrift Supervision to determine who has jurisdiction over State Farm’s sale of $100,000-plus...

North Carolina Senate Considering Bill to Cap Med-Mal Jury Awards

Feb 3 2005 // Despite the defeat of a similar bill two years ago in Raleigh, N.C., the Senate is again considering legislation to cap jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. Sen. Robert Pittenger, R-Mecklenburg, a cap proponent,...

N.C. Gov. Easley Suggest Using ‘Rainy Day Fund’ for Hurricane Relief

Feb 3 2005 // With damage estimates after last year’s hurricanes approaching $300 million, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has asked legislators to approve spending $61 million from the state’s rainy day fund to assist...

N.C. Rate Bureau Asks Insurance Commission for 11.5 Percent Auto Premium Increase

Feb 3 2005 // The North Carolina Department of Insurance has expressed doubts about new methodology used by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which has just requested an 11.5 percent statewide increase in private auto insurance rates....

Stewart Joins Insurance Federation of N.C.

Jan 31 2005 // Joe Stewart, an employee of the North Carolina State Treasurer’s office, has resigned to become executive director of the newly-formed Insurance Federation of North Carolina. Stewart has been a long-standing...

Bid-rigging Investigations Continue in North Carolina

Jan 24 2005 // Investigators have been assigned by Commissioner Jim Long of the North Carolina Department of Insurance Commissioner to take a closer look at possible bid-rigging by insurance companies and brokers. Last October the...

State Capital Assigned ‘R’

Jan 24 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned its ‘R’ financial strength rating to State Capital Insurance Co. An insurer rated ‘R’ is under regulatory supervision, owing to its financial...

S.C. LAWSUIT CLAIMS HIX INSURANCE MISLED N.C. CUSTOMERS:

Jan 24 2005 // A class-action lawsuit filed in North Carolina’s Guilford Superior Court claims that Hix Insurance of Greensboro, S.C., misled thousands of North Carolina customers, especially Latinos, into unknowingly buying motor...

Price-Fixing Scheme Investigated in N.C.

Jan 19 2005 // North Carolina state insurance regulators are investigating whether as many as 10 insurance companies conspired in a price-fixing scheme. The Insurance Department is examining the companies after contacting about 1,400...

N.C. GOV. APPROVES $90M FOR HURRICANE RELIEF:

Jan 3 2005 // North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley approved a request from the Western Recovery Task Force to provide assistance to local governments affected by six storms that inflicted heavy losses in North Carolina last fall. In response...