Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ironshore Hires Merola as Branch Executive of Western Penn., W.Va. Region
Nov 12 2015 // Ironshore Inc. has named Emily C. Merola as branch executive of the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia region to lead development efforts in the newly established Pittsburgh office. Merola will be responsible for...
West Virginia Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit by Fired Superintendent
Nov 12 2015 // A former West Virginia schools superintendent cannot sue the state Board of Education over its decision to fire her, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The court ruled in favor of the board, which appealed a...
SBA Loans Available to Southwest Virginia Storm Victims
Nov 9 2015 // Low-interest disaster loans are available to Virginia businesses and residents in southwest Virginia that were drenched by rains in late September and early October. The Small Business Administration loans are in response...
West Virginia Dog Wins Award for Most Unusual Pet Insurance Claim
Nov 9 2015 // A dog that ate a barbecue skewer has won a national competition for most unusual pet insurance claim. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that the 5-year-old Boxer named Curtis beat out 11 other pets in online voting for...
Virginia’s Hilb Group Hires Hobbs as President, COO
Nov 6 2015 // David Hobbs The Hilb Group, a middle market insurance agency based in Richmond, Virginia, has hired David Hobbs as president and chief operating officer. The title of president was previously held by Chief Executive...
Virginia Med Payments Per Workers’ Comp Claim Among Highest of Study States
Nov 4 2015 // Driven primarily by prices, medical payments per workers’ compensation claim with more than seven days of lost time in Virginia were among the highest of the study states, according to a recent study issued by the...
West Virginia Official Says Miner Drug Abuse Rising
Nov 3 2015 // The director of West Virginia’s mine safety office says there is a growing substance abuse problem among miners. Director Eugene White of the Office of Mine Health, Safety and Training told legislators last month...
Business Moves
Nov 2 2015 // Kelso, Risk Strategies Risk Strategies Co., a Boston-Based insurance and benefits brokerage, and Kelso & Co., a New York-based private equity firm, have signed a definitive agreement whereby Kelso will acquire a...
West Virginia Train Derailment Lawsuit Moved to Federal Court
Oct 30 2015 // A lawsuit filed stemming from a fiery February derailment of a CSX oil train in Mount Carbon has been moved to federal court. The Register-Herald reports that the lawsuit by more than 200 residents was moved to U.S....
Former West Virginia Mine Worker Talks Safety Shortcuts in Blankenship Trial
Oct 26 2015 // A key government witness testified in West Virginia that prosecutors had threatened to charge him alongside his old coal boss, and he was under an immunity agreement Friday when he took the stand. In the criminal trial of...
Virginia Bureau of Insurance Announces 2 New Deputy Commissioners
Oct 20 2015 // Rebecca Nichols The Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance has appointed Rebecca Nichols as deputy commissioner of the Property and Casualty Division. Nichols joined the Bureau of Insurance in...
Report: West Virginia Leads U.S. in Prescription Drug Overdoses
Oct 19 2015 // Nearly 2,900 West Virginians have overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin over the past five years, according to the state Health Statistics Center. The center also said overdose deaths last year were the highest...
Drug Deaths Outnumbered Highway Fatalities in Virginia for 1st Time Last Year
Oct 16 2015 // Deaths from heroin and opioid use outnumbered highway fatalities in Virginia for the first time last year, officials said. Records show that 728 Virginians died from drug overdoses in 2014, while 700 people died on the...
Patriot Coal Reaches Mine Site Clean-Up Deal with West Virginia
Oct 15 2015 // Patriot Coal and West Virginia environmental regulators have reached an agreement in which the company will set aside more than $50 million to cover cleanup costs at its former mine sites in the state. The Department of...
Virginia’s TowneBank Expands Insurance Unit With 3 Agency Acquisitions
Oct 14 2015 // TowneBank, a Portsmouth, Virginia-based community banking and financial services company, announced that it has acquired three insurance agencies in Virginia: Invincia Insurance Solutions in Chesterfield; Total Insurance...
West Virginia Widow Settles Wrongful Death Suit with Energy Companies for $18M
Oct 12 2015 // Energy companies will pay $18 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died in a flash fire at a natural gas station in Tyler County, West Virginia. The settlement involves the April 2013...
DuPont Found Liable in West Virginia Toxic Water Lawsuit
Oct 8 2015 // DuPont Co. was found liable for a woman’s kidney cancer in the first of 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon ingredient found in Ohio and West Virginia water, but spinoff Chemours Co. will have to bear any costs from...
West Virginia Files Suit Against Volkswagen Over Clean Diesel Claims
Oct 7 2015 // West Virginia may be the first U.S. state to sue Volkswagen AG for deceiving car buyers after the Environmental Protection Agency said last month that the company had installed software to hide that its diesel engines...
Deadly West Virginia Mine Explosion Trial Puts Spotlight on Massey’s King Coal
Oct 6 2015 // Before death came to Upper Big Branch Mine, Donald L. Blankenship managed his patch of Appalachia like King Coal incarnate. Outside homes in rural West Virginia flew the banner of his company, Massey Energy Co.: a flame...
Maryland Welcomes 7 New Insurers
Oct 5 2015 // The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) announced on Sept. 14 that seven new insurance companies have been approved to offer workers’ compensation and life insurance products in Maryland. “Our goal is to...
