Latest Vermont Headlines
All the headlines from our Vermont Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Vermont Under Flood Watch on Anniversary of Last Year’s Severe Inundations
Jul 11 2024 // A flood watch was declared for much of Vermont on Wednesday — the anniversary of last summer’s severe flooding — and also Thursday, with heavy rains in the forecast. As Gov. Phil Scott and other officials...
Vermont Governor Vetoes Data Privacy Bill As Too Hostile to Business, Nonprofits
Jun 17 2024 // Vermont’s governor has vetoed a broad data privacy bill that would have been one of the strongest in the country to crack down on companies’ use of online personal data by letting consumers file civil lawsuits...
Hub Acquires Vermont’s Essex Agency
Jun 5 2024 // Global insurance broker Hub International Limited reported it has acquired The Essex Agency, Inc. of Essex Junction, Vermont. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Essex Agency is an independent insurance agency...
Medical Cannabis User Fired After Failing Drug Test Appeals Denial of Job Benefits
Jun 3 2024 // A Vermont man who lost his job after he said a random drug test showed he had used medical marijuana off duty for chronic pain has appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court saying he should not have been denied a portion of...
Vermont Is 1st State With Law Requiring Oil Companies Pay for Climate Change Damage
Jun 3 2024 // Vermont has become the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme...
People & Places
Jun 3 2024 // National Kara Higginbotham Zurich North America, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, named Kara Higginbotham head of professional liability and cyber for U.S. national accounts, leading a team of underwriters who serve...
First Amendment Does Not Protect Social Media Retaliation Against Employees
May 29 2024 // A federal court in Vermont recently ruled that the First Amendment does not protect a construction firm and its officials using social media to retaliate against employees who exercise their rights under federal labor...
Mars Loses Appeal to Undo Dismissal of COVID-19 Business Loss Claims
May 28 2024 // Petcare, food and candy company Mars Inc. has lost its bid to revive its claims against Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for business interruption losses it incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The Fourth Circuit Court of...
Vermont Updates Its Captive Insurance Law Again
May 23 2024 // Vermont Governor Phil Scott has signed into law legislation updating certain sections of the state’s captive insurance statute including sections governing minimum capital requirements for agency captives and...
Gallagher Updates Regulation for Artificial Intelligence
May 22 2024 // Gallagher’s Cyber practice remains laser focused on emerging technology and the potential for increased risks as organizations begin to use them. Throughout 2024, we’re concentrated on evolving compliance...
Excellent Ratings for Pfizer’s Property Captive in Vermont Are Affirmed
May 10 2024 // AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” (Excellent) of Blue Whale Re Ltd. (Blue Whale) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit...
People Moves: JM Wilson Hires Kemp; Vermont Mutual Promotes Gilbert
May 7 2024 // JM Wilson Hires Kemp as Transportation Renewal Underwriter Corey Kemp JM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, hired Corey Kemp as transportation renewal underwriter. Kemp is responsible for underwriting renewal...
People Moves: McDonnell Succeeds Bridge as President of Vermont Mutual
Apr 22 2024 // Mark J. McDonnell The Vermont Mutual board of directors named Mark J. McDonnell president of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group. McDonnell is the 18th president, succeeding former president and current CEO Daniel C. Bridge,...
Vermont Farms Still Recovering From Flooding As Growing Season Begins
Apr 19 2024 // Hundreds of Vermont farms are still recovering from last July’s catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather as they head into this year’s growing season. Dog River Farm, in Berlin, Vermont, lost nearly all...
Insurers Norfolk & Dedham of Massachusetts and Union Mutual of Vermont to Affiliate
Apr 11 2024 // Massachusetts-based Norfolk & Dedham (N&D) and Union Mutual in Vermont, property/casualty insurers with a combined 350 years in the business in the Northeast, announced they intend to affiliate, subject to...
Weather and Inflation Have Not Been Kind to Vermont Mutual
Apr 5 2024 // For Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, which has been around since 1828, the past few years have been among the most challenging in its history. “The disruption was not from a single event, but a confluence of...
States Eye Requiring Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Some Climate Change Damage
Apr 3 2024 // The Vermont Legislature is advancing legislation requiring big fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme...
Vermont Communities Hit by Summer Flooding Seek $3.5M to Elevate 20 Homes
Mar 22 2024 // Two of the Vermont communities hardest hit by last summer’s catastrophic flooding have requested $3.5 million in state funding to elevate 20 homes in Barre and the capital city of Montpelier for flood victims who...
Biden Approves Federal Disaster Aid for Vermont for December Flooding, Severe Storm
Mar 6 2024 // President Joe Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration sought by Gov. Phil Scott to help communities in seven Vermont counties that saw severe rainfall and flooding in December. Federal funding is available on a...
Vermont Seeks Federal Disaster Declaration for December Flooding
Feb 22 2024 // Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has requested a federal major disaster declaration to help communities hit by severe rainfall and flooding in December. Such a declaration would allow municipalities to be reimbursed for 75% of...
