Latest Tennessee Headlines

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

Tennessee Court Rules Homeowners Policy Doesn’t Cover Sons’ Shootings

May 4 2009 // A homeowners insurance policy does not cover damages from a fatal sniper attack by the sons of the policyholders, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled. The court ruled that a policy exclusion barring coverage for damages...

Tennessee Proposal to Let Golf Carts on Roads Stalls

Apr 23 2009 // A proposal to allow operation of golf carts on certain Tennessee roads will be studied over the summer with similar bills. The House Public Safety Subcommittee voted to send the measure to a summer study committee. The...

Willis HRH Names Pera to Head Atlantic Region, Based in Tennessee

Apr 22 2009 // Insurance broker Willis HRH has appointed Douglas W. Pera as national partner of its Atlantic region. Pera will be responsible for the company’s retail insurance offices in Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia, and will...

Tennessee Tornadoes Took 2 Lives, Damaged 500 Buildings

Apr 15 2009 // The National Weather Service has upgraded the strength of a tornado that killed a woman and her infant daughter when it hit Murfreesboro last week and said a second tornado touched down in the county. The weather service...

Georgia Charges Tennessee Trucking Insurance Agent with $2.6 Million Fraud

Apr 10 2009 // A Chattanooga, Tenn. insurance agent has been charged with insurance fraud and theft for allegedly adding commissions to policies when he told policyholders that the coverage was being sold on a net basis — with a...

Tennessee House Panel OKs Ban on Texting-while-Driving

Apr 9 2009 // A proposal to prohibit texting while driving has advanced out of the House Transportation Committee despite the vocal objections of some members of the panel. Pegram Republican Rep. Phillip Johnson noted that drivers can...

Texting While Driving Already Illegal in Tennessee, Says AG

Mar 26 2009 // A Tennessee attorney general opinion says sending or reading texts while driving falls under a law prohibiting the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle. Rep. Vince Dean, an East Ridge Republican and chairman of the House...

Tenn. Lawmaker Drops Immunity Claim in Libel Suit

Mar 26 2009 // A Republican lawmaker in Tennessee has dropped claims of legislative immunity for comments he made on his personal blog that sparked a $750,000 libel lawsuit. State Rep. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville was sued by Roger...

Texas Mutual Gains Legal Ground in Oklahoma, Tennessee Cases

Jan 23 2009 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported it has secured legal victories in two workers’ compensation cases that originated in Oklahoma and Tennessee. In a statement released by the company, Texas Mutual Insurance said...

West Tennessee Feels Small Earthquake But No Damages Reported

Jan 20 2009 // Earthquake researchers say a small quake occurred last Friday in West Tennessee but no damages from it were reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 40 miles north of Memphis and measured a...

Group Urges Tennessee Residents to Avoid Ash from Coal Plant

Dec 29 2008 // Authorities need to more strongly warn residents that muck left from a major coal-ash spill in eastern Tennessee could pose health risks, a southern environmental group said Saturday. The Tennessee Department of...

Tennessee Motel Sued for $100M in Death of Alabama Woman

Dec 8 2008 // The parents of a former north Alabama high school homecoming queen have filed a lawsuit seeking $100 million against the motel in Knoxville where she was killed, allegedly by a motel employee. Cynthia Senn and Michael...

Business Moves

Nov 30 2008 // Arthur J. Gallagher The HR Group International insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported it has acquired The HR Group, LLC of Brentwood, Tennessee. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The HR Group...

Madrid Zone Earthquake Study a Wake-Up Call for Tennessee, Other States

Nov 30 2008 // A new federal study of the New Madrid Seismic Zone predicts Tennessee would see the highest level of damage if there is a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The study notes that the total economic impact of a series of NMSZ...

Business Moves

Nov 30 2008 // Brown & Brown, Conner Strong Florida- based Brown & Brown Inc. said it has agreed to acquire the small business insurance unit of Conner Strong Companies, Inc., which is headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey....

Study Shows Tennessee Would Lose Most People, Buildings from Earthquake

Nov 24 2008 // A new federal study of the New Madrid Seismic Zone predicts Tennessee would see the highest level of damage if there is a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The Federal Emergency Management Agency released the two-year study as...

Kentucky’s HopFed Bank Gets Preliminary Approval for Bailout Funds

Nov 21 2008 // Kentucky’s HopFed Bancorp, Inc., holding company for Heritage Bank and Fall & Fall Insurance, reports it has been preliminarily approved to participate in the U.S. Department of Treasury Capital Purchase Program...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys The HR Group of Tennessee

Nov 20 2008 // International insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported it has acquired The HR Group, LLC in Brentwood, Tennessee. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Established in 1996, The HR Group offers...

Voters Shuffle Deck of State Legislatures; Both Parties Claim Gains

Nov 5 2008 // Voters on Tuesday left their mark on the state political landscape, shifting the partisan control of state government in a dozen states. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Democrats gained control...

Tennessee-based Unum Releases Buyers Study Findings

Nov 4 2008 // Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., Unum unveiled findings of its 2008 Buyers Study, saying the role employee benefits play in protecting the financial stability of workers and their families is often overlooked. One half...