Iowa News

Despite Outrage at AIG Bonuses, Private Sector Still Rewards Failure

To many Americans, it’s a matter of common sense: traders who failed so spectacularly at their jobs that they nearly brought down the global economy should be fired, not rewarded with handsome bonuses. Yet AIG, the fallen insurer, paid out …

Business Moves

Brick Street West Virginia-based BrickStreet Mutual Insurance has been approved to write workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois. The move continues an expansion drive for the company, which was approved to write workers’ compensation coverage in Kentucky last year. BrickStreet said …

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. Livestock Mortality Insurance Market Detail: Chopra Insurance Brokerage Inc. offers an “all risks of mortality” …

Iowa House Panel Backs Ban on Texting While Driving

An Iowa House of Representatives committee has approved a limited ban on motorists using their cell phones to send text messages while motoring down the highway. Republican Rep. Dave Tjepkes, a retired Iowa State Patrol trooper from Gowrie, says texting …

Rare Earthquake Rattles Northern Illinois; No Damage Reported

A small pre-dawn earthquake hit northern Illinois on Feb. 10, startling residents as far away as Michigan and Iowa, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) said the earthquake was felt in eight …

A.M. Best B+ (Good) Rated Contractor GL Insurance Carrier Expanding to 35 States

National Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., a Risk Retention Group (“NCIC”), A.M. Best Rated B+ (Good), is expanding from 25 to 35 states, with their Commercial General Liability coverage now being made available in Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Mississippi, …

E-mails Suggest Georgia Insurance Chief Oxendine Had Interest in Probe

Georgia Insurance Department staffers raised questions about an investigation into an Iowa-based insurer and noted Commissioner John Oxendine’s “personal interest” in the complaint against the company filed by a doctor who later became a major campaign donor, according to e-mails …

Blue Cross Competitor Sanford Gets OK to Sell Insurance in ND

North Dakota regulators have given approval to Sanford Health Plan to sell health insurance in the state, likely setting up competition with the company that has dominated the North Dakota market for decades but has drawn recent criticism for its …

AIG Retention Bonuses Will Be Completed in March, Says Pay Czar

President Barack Obama’s pay czar Wednesday predicted the issue of hefty bonuses for AIG employees would end in March and denied a Republican claim that the firm outmaneuvered the Obama administration. “It ends this March with the last of these …

Federal Figures Show Reduction in Joblessness in Oklahoma

Oklahoma was one of only four states to show lower unemployment in December, compared with the month before, with a drop of half a percentage point to 6.6 percent, according to federal figures. That was the biggest improvement in joblessness …