Latest North Carolina Headlines

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

Melting Snow, Ice Increase Claims in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina

Dec 30 2004 // The Kentucky Insurance Commission estimates damages of from $400,000 to $500,000 in losses due to last week’s winter storms and warmer temperatures this week. An unusual amount of snow and ice, high winds and...

Class-Action Lawsuit Claims Hix Insurance Misled N.C. Customers

Dec 28 2004 // A class-action lawsuit has been filed in North Carolina’s Guilford Superior Court claiming that Hix Insurance of Greensboro has misled thousands of its North Carolina customers, especially Latinos, into unknowingly...

Tenn. Commissioner Says Multi-State UnumProvident Settlement Signed

Dec 21 2004 // At least 40 states have ratified landmark multi-state settlement agreements involving three major disability insurance carriers owned by UnumProvident Corp. of Chattanooga, Tenn., insurance regulators announced...

Report: Fla., N.C. Had Best Scores in Bioterrorism Preparedness Assessment

Dec 16 2004 // Florida and North Carolina scored highest in a report “Protecting the Public’s Health in the Age of Bioterrorism,” released by the Trust for America’s Health. The group measured 10 indicators to...

Former N.C. DoT Employee Sentenced for Disability Claims Fraud

Dec 10 2004 // Denise Hargrove of Raleigh, N.C. has been sentenced to from four to five-and-a-half years in prison and one year of probation for insurance fraud. Hargrove, a former Department of Transportation employee, admitted she...

AmWINS Acquires N.C. Quaker Special Risk

Dec 8 2004 // Charlotte, N.C.-based American Wholesale Insurance Group (AmWINS), a large independent wholesaler, has acquired the southeast office of Quaker Special Risk. AmWINS provides retail agents with insurance services, from...

N.C. HOMEOWNERS DISPUTE CLAIM DENIAL, HIRE LAWYERS:

Dec 6 2004 // Six residents in Peeks Creek, N.C., where four people died in what is suspected to be a Hurricane Ivan-triggered landslide, have hired lawyers to represent them after being denied insurance claims. Fifteen houses were...

First Charter Corp. Adds Smith & Assoc. Insurance to N.C. Acquisitions

Dec 3 2004 // Smith and Associates Insurance Services Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., an independent property casualty agency that specializes in middle market commercial accounts has been acquired by First Charter Corp. (FCC), a large...

N.C. HAS 8TH LOWEST AUTO RATES IN U.S.:

Nov 22 2004 // A National Association of Insurance Commissioners report comparing auto insurance rates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that North Carolina ranks eighth in the nation for the lowest rates. This is an...

Six N.C. Homeowners Dispute Denial of Hurricane Ivan Damage Claims

Nov 19 2004 // Six residents in Peeks Creek, N.C. where four people died in a Hurricane Ivan-triggered landslide have hired lawyers to represent them after being denied insurance claims. Fifteen houses were damaged or destroyed in Peeks...

N.C. RESIDENTS RECEIVE MORE THAN $8.5 MILLION IN DISASTER AID:

Nov 8 2004 // Officials of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management (CCPS-DEM)...

N.C. Requires Certified Statements on Bid Rigging:

Nov 8 2004 // A “demand to produce information” has been issued by the North Carolina Department of Insurance in an effort to closely scrutinize the records and practices of more than 5,000 insurance companies and brokers...

People & Places

Nov 8 2004 // In Asheville, N.C., Don Evans, president, and Bob Bird, CEO, honored outstanding Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina members with Lifetime Achievement, Company Professional of the Year, Agent of the Year, and...

Two United Health Care Companies Agree to $1.1M Settlement with N.C.

Nov 4 2004 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long today announced a voluntary settlement agreement between the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) and two companies, UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc. (an HMO)...

DMLR: N.C. Patients, Doctors Win with Burr Election

Nov 3 2004 // Doctors for Medical Liability Reform (DMLR) said North Carolina patients and physicians will see another supporter of national medical liability reform in the U.S. Senate come January 2005. On Tuesday, North Carolina...

N.C. Commissioner Demands Certified Statements on Bid Rigging

Oct 28 2004 // Jim Long A “demand to produce information” has been issued by the North Carolina Department of Insurance in an effort to closely scrutinize the records and practices of more than 5,000 insurance companies and...

N.C. Commissioner Discusses Good, Bad Side to Insurance Questions

Oct 23 2004 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long showed Friday just how high he would go to get re-elected. He climbed to the top of the New Bern Fire and Rescue Department’s 40-foot training tower during a campaign...

IIANC Names Meshaw Company Pro of the Year; Kenley Garners Education Award

Oct 12 2004 // The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) recently announced that Dewey Meshaw has been named as IIANC’s Company Professional of the Year. Selected annually, this award recognizes an insurance...

N.C COMMISSIONER ALERTS SUGGESTS $700 M AUTO RATE REFUNDS:

Oct 11 2004 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long has advised the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., of the potential for up to $700 million in auto rate refund checks to be distributed to North Carolinians during the...

Climbing Medical Insurance Rates Challenge N.C. Economy, Says DMLR

Oct 10 2004 // North Carolina’s economic woes are reportedly well-known, with textile mills shutting down, a less-than encouraging national financial outlook, and lengthy lines at the unemployment office. The situation may continue...