Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Okla. Legislation Aims to Override April 1 Auto Rate Hike
Jan 11 2005 // Oklahoma vehicle owners could combat an April 1 increase in auto insurance rates if a bill proposed by Rep. Jerry Shoemake (D-Morris) passes the Oklahoma Legislature. Shoemake has filed a petition to override a law,...
300-Plus Claims Filed Over Okla. Plant Explosion
Jan 6 2005 // More than 300 insurance claims have been filed concerning a furnace explosion at a scrap metal plant in Muskogee, Okla., that killed two employees and damaged nearby homes, according to the Associated Press. Insurance...
Texas, Oklahoma Enjoy Lower Workplace Injury, Illness Rates
Jan 3 2005 // For the second year in a row, Oklahoma workplaces set records for lower numbers of recordable injuries and illnesses, as well as lower injury and illness rates, according to the state’s Department of Labor....
Mercury Insurance Group Opens Okla. Office
Dec 28 2004 // Mercury Insurance Group has opened its Western Regional Headquarters in Oklahoma City, taking a five-year lease on more than 40,000 square feet of office space in what will now be known as the Mercury Insurance building at...
Okla. Prosecutors to Appeal Judge’s Dismissal of Embezzlement Count Against Fisher
Dec 28 2004 // Oklahoma state prosecutors plan to appeal a judge’s recent decision to dismiss an embezzlement count against former state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, according to the Associated Press. “I’m not...
HALLIBURTON ASBESTOS DEAL OK’D:
Dec 20 2004 // Houston’s Halliburton announced that settlement agreements involving asbestos claims were approved on Nov. 18, 2004, and Nov. 29, 2004. The Honorable Judith K. Fitzgerald approved settlements concerning asbestos...
Oklahoma: The Demise of an Insurance Commissioner
Dec 20 2004 // The dominating insurance story in Oklahoma in 2004 was undoubtedly the crash and fall of former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Faced with multiple indictments on felony charges, numerous ethics reprimands, an...
Health Care Service May Add Okla.’s Largest Insurer
Dec 17 2004 // Health Care Service Corp. is considering adding Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma to its network of insurance providers in Illinois, Texas and New Mexico, according to the Associated Press and the Tulsa World. The...
Okla. Has Record Year for Low Workplace Injury, Illness
Dec 15 2004 // For the second year in a row, Oklahoma workplaces set records for the fewest number of recordable injuries and illness as well as the lowest injury and illness rate, according to the state’s Department of Labor. The...
Peterson to Chair Okla. House Ins. Committee
Dec 15 2004 // Rep. Ron Peterson is the new head of a legislative panel responsible for oversight of Oklahoma’s insurance industry, according to the Oklahoma House of Representatives Media Division. House Speaker-elect Todd Hiett,...
Okla. Legislator to Renew Effort to Make Insurance Commissioner an Appointed Position
Dec 13 2004 // A Tulsa, Okla.-area legislator plans to take up the mission he began nearly a year ago to change the position of state insurance commissioner to one that is appointed rather than elected. State Rep. John Trebilcock,...
Okla. Among Four Insurance Departments Receiving Accreditation Honors
Dec 7 2004 // Four state insurance departments received Accreditation Awards under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation Program. The honors were presented to...
Okla. SAYS ‘NO’ TO Fake Discounts:
Dec 6 2004 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department announced it has ordered three medical discount companies to cease doing business in the state. Insurance Department officials alleged that the companies sold cards that purported to...
Oklahoma Looks Ahead, Celebrates Those Who Served Before
Dec 6 2004 // With any luck, by the time you read this, it will be out of date. Why? I hope Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry will have appointed a new insurance commissioner for the Sooner State. One thing that will not change regardless of...
Former Okla. Insurance Agent Gets 97 Months
Nov 30 2004 // A former Shawnee, Okla., insurance agent was sentenced recently to 97 months in federal prison, but state prosecutors say the man has agreed to a much lengthier sentence for swindling scores of investors out of more than...
Okla. Orders Companies to Stop Fake Discounts
Nov 29 2004 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department announced it has ordered three medical discount companies to cease doing business in the state. Department officials alleged that the companies sold cards that purported to provide...
Okla. Approves NCCI Values for Terrorism, Catastrophes
Nov 22 2004 // Oklahoma’s State Board for Property and Casualty Rates announced its approval of NCCI’s Item B-1393—Miscellaneous Values for Domestic Terrorism, Earthquakes, and Catastrophic Industrial Accidents. The purpose...
Okla. Grand Jury Indictment Names Ellis
Nov 22 2004 // A Multicounty Grand Jury indictment unsealed late last week names former Oklahoma Insurance Department employee Opal Ellis on four counts of making a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim, Attorney General Drew Edmondson...
Industry in the Bull’s Eye
Nov 8 2004 // In the days after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a civil lawsuit against insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. for alleged commercial account steering and bid rigging, the insurance industry...
Oklahoma Okays Rate Increase for Med-Mal Insurer
Nov 5 2004 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department reported that a requested rate increase for medical professional liability insurance carrier NCMIC Insurance Company has been approved. NCMIC applied for a rate increase in August 2004,...
