Latest Utah Headlines

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

20 States Have Enacted Tort Reforms This Year

Aug 4 2003 // This year has been the busiest for enactment of state civil justice reform legislation since 1995, according to the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA). At mid-year, 20 states already have enacted laws; 19 laws were...

Alliance Says Gov.’s Stance on Utah State Fund Debate ‘Right on Track’

Jul 21 2003 // Efforts by Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) to make sure the debate over the future of the Workers Compensation Fund of Utah (WCF) and its subsidiaries focuses on “big picture” issues and doesn’t degrade into...

A.M. Best Downgrades Wasatch Crest Mutual Rating

Jul 21 2003 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to E (Under Regulatory Supervision) from C++ (Marginal) of Wasatch Crest Mutual Insurance Company (WCM). The rating reflects the Utah Insurance Department’s...

20 States Have Enacted Tort Reforms This Year

Jul 15 2003 // This year has been the busiest for enactment of state civil justice reform legislation since 1995, according to the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA). At mid-year, 20 states already have enacted laws; 19 laws were...

NAII Addresses Utah Credit and CLUE Concerns

Jun 24 2003 // The predictive value of credit-based insurance scores and loss history databases were highlighted recently as insurers explained the benefits of these tools for consumers to Utah’s Business and Labor Interim...

Tort Reform Tops 2003 Idaho Legislative Session; State Fund Issue Remains Unresolved

May 14 2003 // Tort reform was reportedly the major accomplishment of the 2003 Idaho legislative session. The session lasted a record 118 days due to a standoff between the Governor and legislators over the raising of certain taxes to...

Ins. Auto Auctions Acquires Utah’s Mountain States Salvage Pool

May 1 2003 // Insurance Auto Auctions Inc., a provider of automotive salvage and claims processing services in the United States, announced the acquisition of Mountain States Salvage Pool located in Ogden, Utah. Situated just north of...

Utah Makes Positive Changes to Proposed Credit Rule, NAII Says

Apr 24 2003 // The Utah Department of Insurance has modified its proposed rule on credit-based insurance scoring to allow insurers the use of this tool as long as other risk-related factors are considered. The previous draft of the...

Solution to Growing Asbestos Crisis may be on the Way

Apr 21 2003 // The ‘elephantine mass of asbestos cases’ lodged in state and federal courts, we again recognize, ‘defies customary judicial administration and calls for national legislation,'” wrote Justice Ruth...

Supreme Court Rules in Important Insurance Legal Case

Apr 7 2003 // A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today overturning a lower court’s ruling in State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Curtis B. Campbell and Inez Preece Campbell is a victory for insurers and state regulation...

NAII Seeks Changes in Utah’s Proposed Insurance Scoring Rule

Mar 5 2003 // The National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) is urging the Utah Department of Insurance to revise its draft rule on credit-based insurance scoring to allow the use of this tool if risk-related factors other than...

Utah Resident Charged in $1M Workers’ Comp Scheme

Mar 4 2003 // Kevin T. Brough, a Kaysville, Utah resident, was charged with 20 felonies as a consequence of an investigation by the Utah Insurance Department’s Fraud Division. Brough, a Farmers Insurance agent, pleaded guilty to...

U.S. Supreme Court to Review Campbell Decision

Feb 10 2003 // In December 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Campbell vs. State Farm. Four of the justices voted to hear the case. They will render their decision by the end of the current term in June, and a lot...

Farm Bureau Mutual, Western Ag. Lowered

Feb 10 2003 // S&P’s lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Iowa-based Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. (Farm Bureau) and Western Agricultural Insurance Co. (Western Agricultural) to...

S&P’s Lowers Rtgs. on Farm Bureau Mutual Co., Western Agricultural

Jan 22 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Iowa-based Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. (Farm Bureau) and Western Agricultural Insurance Co. (Western Agricultural) to...

A.M. Best Adds Utah to State Rate Filings

Jan 7 2003 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it will add the state of Utah to its monthly publication of Best’s State Rate Filings. The publication helps professionals track and monitor insurance company rate-filing activity in key...

Utah Resident Gets Six Months for WC Fraud

Nov 8 2002 // Ogden, Utah resident Robert Paul Martinez, 30, was recently sentenced to 180 days in jail for insurance fraud. Second District Court Judge Ernie W. Jones sentenced Martinez Oct. 16, 2002, on charges of workers’...

Iowa, Utah Adopt Consumer Privacy Regulations

Nov 7 2002 // Iowa and Utah have adopted consumer privacy regulations that closely follow a National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) model. National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) Counsel Ann Weber...

Campbell vs. State Farm: U.S. Supreme Court May Resolve Issue

Sep 16 2002 // Outrageous! A travesty of Justice! Should be reversed! Both sides have probably said that at one time or another as the case of Campbell vs. State Farm worked it’s way through Utah’s court system, culminating...

A.M. Best Confirms Utah’s Workers’ Comp Fund Rating

Aug 29 2002 // A.M. Best Co. has reaffirmed Salt Lake City, Utah-based Workers Compensation Fund (WCF)’s ‘A-minus’ (excellent) rating. According to A.M. Best, WCF’s ‘A-minus rating’ reflects the mutual...