February 18, 2009
More than a third of Arkansas’ 75 counties have been declared eligible for federal public assistance after last month’s ice storm. The Public Assistance Program reimburses local governments, state agencies and certain private nonprofit organizations 75 percent of their costs …
February 18, 2009
Richard G. “Dick” Clarke, senior vice president of J. Smith Lanier & Co. in West Point, Ga., has been elected 2009 president of RiskProNet International, a network of 25 independent insurance brokers in North America. Clarke is a veteran of …
February 17, 2009
Charitable hospitals with self-insurance plans can be sued for incidents that occurred before their pooled liability funds were established, the Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled. The decision comes as a blow to not-for-profit hospitals like St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center …
February 13, 2009
The Arkansas House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing concealed handguns in churches, despite hearing arguments that lawmakers should put their faith in God, not guns. The bill, which passed on a 57-42 vote and now heads to the …
February 12, 2009
Insurers such as Zurich and Farmers have announced they are sending catastrophe response teams to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, areas pummeled by severe weather earlier this week. Especially hard hit by a cluster of tornados on Feb. 10 was Lone …
February 11, 2009
The scenario is frightening: Hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians, many in far-flung rural areas, left in dire circumstances by a major natural disaster. Cut off, they have no electric power, no way to call for help and all roads are …
February 11, 2009
A century ago, at the dawn of food safety laws, inspection amounted to little more than opening a bin of flour and looking for something wiggly. It’s a different story now. Solving the case of the poison processed peanuts took …
February 9, 2009
Librarians, clothing makers, craft sellers and thrift-store owners received a reprieve Friday from federal regulators who moved to quell confusion over a new product safety law. The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued what amounts to temporary exemptions to a new …
February 9, 2009
National Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., a Risk Retention Group (NCIC) specializing in general liability insurance for licensed residential and commercial general and artisan contractors, has redomesticated to Montana, effective February 5, 2009. NCIC writes the difficult Classes: Roofers, Foundations, Excavators, …
February 8, 2009
Liberty Mutual Group is throwing in the towel on direct distribution of insurance to middle market businesses. Since it couldn’t beat independent agents and brokers – who dominate sales in this segment – Liberty Mutual has decided to join them. …