Arizona News

Florida #1 in Staged Accident Claims

Suspicious insurance claims from staged accidents are on the rise- and nowhere more than in New York and Florida, two states with no-fault statutes. Georgia and North Carolina are also among the top states. Overall, the number of questionable claims …

Arizona Privatizing Workers’ Compensation Insurer

The Arizona Legislature has approved a bill to privatize the state workers’ compensation insurer as an Arizona mutual insurance company, beginning Jan. 1, 2013. The State Compensation Fund (SCF) was created in 1925 by the legislature to provide a ready …

New Markets

The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Allied Health and Medical Pros Market Detail: CRES Insurance Services MedSurance A&M is an insurance …

Crawford Names Laytin VP of Western Region Claims Operations

Atlanta-based Crawford & Co., an independent provider of claims management solutions, has named Bentley R. Laytin vice president, western regional manager for U.S. Property & Casualty operations. Laytin has worked his entire 14-year career in the insurance industry with Crawford, …

Arizona Privatizes Workers’ Compensation Insurer

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1045, which repeals and amends state statute, directing the State Compensation Fund — known as SCF Arizona — to privatize and become a mutual insurance company, regulated by the state Department …

Zurich Expands Underwriting Staff in Southwest

Zurich, a property/casualty insurance provider, has added six people to its underwriting staff in its Southwest region offices. They are: Matt Sweesy has been brought in to lead expansion efforts in the Strategic Risk Solutions business. He is relocating from …

Allstate To Open Offices Throughout the West

Allstate announced it has launched a recruitment campaign throughout the West to attract exclusive agents for 30 offices in Utah, 50 offices in Arizona, 40 offices in Nevada and 30 offices in New Mexico. Targeted areas within Utah include the …

Mercury Partners with Personal Lines Growth Alliance

The Personal Lines Growth Alliance (PLGA), a coalition within the independent agency system, announced that Mercury Insurance Group is a founding financial partner. Mercury is the first of many insurance carriers that will become financial partners, according to PLGA Chair …

Conservator Appointed to Manage Contractor’s Access Program of Calif.

California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has appointed Bickmore Risk Services and Consulting as conservator for the Contractor’s Access Program of California (CAP), which is a self-insured group that has insufficient deposits to cover estimated future liabilities. The conservator has …

People

Regional property/casualty insurance company, The Republic Group, based in Dallas, announced that Jim Drawert, vice president – Industry Relations, will retire June 30. Prior to joining Republic in 2003, Drawert was president of Trinity Universal and chairman and CEO of …