Latest Small Business Headlines
All the headlines from our Small Business Topic Page, ordered by recency.
1 in 10 Small Businesses Report Workers Under Influence of Alcohol, Drugs
Mar 28 2014 // One in 10 small businesses had employees show up for work last year while under the influence of at least one controlled substance. Small-business owners reported that alcohol, marijuana and prescription painkillers were...
Agents Can Help Small Businesses Stay on Top of New Risks: Hartford School
Mar 20 2014 // Small businesses face a myriad of challenges throughout the business life cycle as they embark on new ventures and grow their operations. And insurance agents can serve as their guide and help them understand risks and...
New Jersey’s Small Business Owners Say Sandy Grants Don’t Add Up
Mar 13 2014 // A group of small business owners in New Jersey is the latest to criticize how New Jersey is awarding federal money to help recover from Superstorm Sandy, complaining the state has parceled out only a fraction of the grant...
Small Business Online Insurer AssureStart Now Writing in Maryland, Pennsylvania
Feb 14 2014 // AssureStart, a Seattle-based start-up direct company that sells small business insurance on the Internet, has opened for business in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Owned primarily by American Family Insurance, AssureStart...
Mass. AG Office Says 7.7% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike Unnecessary
Feb 11 2014 // At a recent public hearing, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office expressed its opposition to the workers’ compensation average rate increase proposal and argued that the rate should be lowered...
The Hartford School Of Insurance Launches Small Commercial School
Jan 30 2014 // The Hartford School of Insurance has introduced a small commercial training program designed to educate new agency professionals on technical insurance and sales knowledge focused on the needs of a small business...
N.J. Commissioner Offers Insurance Purchasing Tips for Small Businesses
Jan 30 2014 // Making the right insurance choices can have significant impact on the small business owner’s operation costs. With that in mind, New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski offered some...
New Tax Deduction Available to Ohio Small Businesses
Jan 22 2014 // The state tax commissioner is reminding Ohio small-business owners that they may be eligible for a recently enacted tax deduction. In an alert issued on Jan. 21, Commissioner Joe Testa urged taxpayers to visit the Ohio...
Insureon to Acquire Insurance Noodle Wholesale Site from Willis
Jan 7 2014 // Insureon, an online insurance delivery platform for small business owners, said it has agreed to acquire Insurance Noodle, an online wholesale insurance broker, from Willis Group Holdings. The transaction is expected to...
Willis to Launch Cyber ATLAS, a Cyber Security ‘Toolkit’
Dec 6 2013 // Willis Group Holdings announced that in response to a “stark warning from the UK government that cyber crime threat facing UK companies is increasing,” it is launching Cyber ATLAS, which it describes as a...
Nordquist to Lead Wells Fargo Insurance Small Business, Personal Lines Unit
Dec 5 2013 // Wells Fargo & Co. promoted Laurie Nordquist to head of the unit providing insurance to individuals and small businesses, replacing Anne Doss, the executive who died in August at age 56. Nordquist, 54, will lead a team...
Obamacare’s Small Business Exchange Site Delayed 1 Year
Dec 1 2013 // Small businesses won’t be able to use the federal government’s health insurance website until November 2014 in most U.S. states, the latest delay for the Obama administration’s health-care system...
Capital Insurance Group Launches EPL Coverage for Employers, Small Businesses
Nov 14 2013 // Capital Insurance Group (CIG), a regional property and casualty insurer serving the Western U.S., has released a comprehensive employment practices liability Insurance (EPLI) product for organizations with up to 250...
Small Business Insurance Provider AssureStart to Launch in Texas
Nov 8 2013 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance is partnering with Seattle-based start-up, AssureStart, to sell small business insurance online to Texas businesses beginning in mid-November. After launching in Texas,...
ProWriters Launches Small Business Online Quoting Platform
Oct 29 2013 // ProWriters is now providing agents and brokers access to online quoting and binding for small business professional liability insurance with general liability and/or a business owners policy (BOP). Quotes for small...
Survey: Many Sandy-Impacted Small Biz in N.Y. Unprepared for Another Storm
Oct 24 2013 // A year after Superstorm Sandy, a new survey of small business owners and managers in the metropolitan New York City area found that nearly 30 percent of respondents affected by the storm would be forced to make staffing...
Dovetail Insurance Offering NetComp to Small Businesses in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas
Oct 11 2013 // Dovetail Insurance announced it is now offering its NetComp workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses in Arkansas, Iowa and Kansas. The product is available through independent agents. Dovetail’s...
AIG Sued by Small Businesses Over Workers’ Compensation Reporting
Oct 10 2013 // Class action lawsuits in federal courts on both coasts have been initiated on behalf of small businesses in California, New York and New Jersey against American International Group (AIG) over workers’ compensation...
Obamacare’s Small Business Health Markets Delayed a Month
Sep 26 2013 // Small businesses won’t be able to enroll in new online health insurance marketplaces until Nov. 1 in most U.S. states, the latest delay for the Obama administration’s signature health-care law. Small businesses...
For Small Companies in New York, Health Care Law Raises Questions
Sep 16 2013 // Restaurant owners Colleen and Tim Holmes were considering opening a third business in a growing upstate New York suburb but decided against it. One factor was the risk from expanding their staff beyond 50 full-time...
