Latest Pennsylvania Headlines

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

Pennsylvania Lowers Workers Comp Rates 10%

Feb 13 2008 // Pa. Gov. Edward G. Rendell announced a 10.22 percent average decrease in workers compensation insurance costs, a move that he said will result in $250 million in savings for employers in the state. The move follows...

Pa. Jury Awards $10M to Teen Injured Wearing Lap Belt in Crash

Feb 11 2008 // A Pennsylvania jury awarded $10.2 million to a teenager who was paralyzed in a drunken driving crash while wearing a lap belt in the backseat. The belt tore into Chelsea Pursell’s abdomen, fracturing her spinal cord...

Pa. Court Upholds Rights of Terminated Insurance Agents

Jan 29 2008 // A new decision by a Pennsylvania court could have far-ranging implications on what happens to an insurance agency’s book of business if a carrier terminates its contract. The decision, rendered last week by Judge...

Business Moves

Jan 27 2008 // Lighthouse Underwriters, Cooley and Darling Cooley and Darling Insurance Agency Inc., a new retail agency based in Haymarket, Va., has acquired the retail book of non-profit business from Lighthouse Underwriters LLC, a...

Workers Comp Insurer Guard Begins Rollout of Businessowners Policy

Jan 23 2008 // Guard Insurance Group in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. is venturing beyond its workers compensation roots by introducing a small businessowners policy (BOP) during the first quarter of 2008. The company said it will begin rolling...

Pa. Senate Panel Advances Long-Delayed Mine Safety Measure

Jan 17 2008 // A bill that would install a slew of safety measures into Pennsylvania’s long-outdated law protecting coal miners received unanimous approval from a state Senate committee this week. The bill, which is headed for a...

1908 Pa. Opera House Tragedy Ushered in Fire Safety Rules

Jan 15 2008 // Panic spread through the audience as quickly as the flames devouring the highly flammable stage curtains. Nearly 400 people had packed the Boyertown, Pa. opera house to watch or perform in a play called “The Scottish...

Pa.’s Lebanon Mutual Insurance Plans Conversion to Stock Company

Jan 8 2008 // The board of directors of Lebanon Mutual Insurance Co. of Cleona, Pa., has adopted a plan to convert the insurer from a mutual to a stock organization. Under the plan, Lebanon will convert from a Pennsylvania mutual...

Pa. Officials Cracking Down on Unlicensed ‘Amish Taxis’

Jan 4 2008 // The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is cracking down on operators of “Amish taxis” who regularly serve as drivers for members of the religious group but are not certified to carry passengers. The PUC...

Nuclear Workers in Pa. Become Eligible for Compensation

Jan 4 2008 // After a yearslong fight, tens of thousands of workers at a former nuclear fuel processing plant in Armstrong County, Pa. are now eligible for government aid for their illnesses. To qualify for the $150,000 in compensation,...

CarInsurance.com Adds Insurance Carriers for 2008

Jan 3 2008 // CarInsurance.com, which sells auto insurance over the Internet, has added more carriers to its current 28 state agency product offering. In November and December 2007, the firm expanded and now offers Encompass Insurance...

Pa. High Court: Murder Spree is Single Event under Home Insurance Policy

Dec 31 2007 // An insurance company can be required to defend policyholders accused of negligence in the aftermath of a deadly shooting spree conducted by their son, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled. However, the shooting spree...

Pa. Man Accused of Pushing Car off Mountain to Make Theft Claim

Dec 31 2007 // A Pennsylvania man pushed his Ford Mustang down a mountain as part of a scheme to claim it was stolen, authorities said. Richard Way Jr., 28, pushed the car down an embankment along Wopsy Mountain in Blair County last...

Flying Ice Injures Pa. Ambulance Driver

Dec 21 2007 // An ambulance driver in Bethlehem, Pa. says ice blew off a tractor trailer, smashed her windshield, struck her on the head and showered the inside of the ambulance with ice and broken glass. Jessica Strivelli says if the...

Neighbor With Fire Extinguishers Helps Save Pa. Amish School

Dec 19 2007 // A neighbor rushed to a Belleville, Pa. Amish schoolhouse that was on fire and emptied three fire extinguishers to help contain the blaze. The fire broke out late Monday morning while the White Hall Amish School was in...

Pa. Gov. May Delay Malpractice-Fund Payments

Dec 17 2007 // Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he is probably going to allow doctors to put off payments to the state’s medical-malpractice insurance fund as lawmakers work on legislation to extend a state subsidy that lowers...

Curzi Agency of Easton, Pa. Now Owned by Brown & Brown

Dec 14 2007 // The large Fla.-based insurance agency Brown & Brown, Inc. has made an asset acquisition of of Curzi Insurance Agency, Inc. of Easton, Pa. Thomas E. Riley, Northeast regional president of Brown & Brown, Inc., and...

Pa. Senate Votes to Extend Doctors’ Malpractice Insurance Subsidy

Dec 13 2007 // The Pennsylvania Senate voted Tuesday to extend a malpractice insurance subsidy for doctors and hospitals through next year but rejected an effort by Democrats to divert a surplus from a malpractice reserve fund to pay for...

Pa. Judge Overturns $3 Million Award in Wyeth Prempro Drug Case

Dec 10 2007 // A woman who claimed that Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drug caused her breast cancer did not have sufficient evidence to show that the company acted negligently, said a judge in Pennsylvania who overturned a $3 million...

Pa. Gov. Vows to Hold Up Medical-Malpractice Aid

Dec 5 2007 // Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is threatening to withhold state aid to help doctors and other health care providers pay for their medical malpractice insurance unless lawmakers also act on his proposal to expand state health...