Kentucky News

U.S. Mines Facing Shortage of Safety Air Packs

One of just two major makers of emergency air packs for U.S. coal mines has stopped selling the devices because they often don’t automatically start and the industry fears it will lead to a shortage, officials said. Underground mines must …

Smart Choice Agency Market Program Expands to 6 More States

The North Carolina-based Smart Choice Agents Program, which says it currently provides personal and commercial lines markets for some 3,000 independent agencies in 32 states, is expanding into six additional states. The program is moving into Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New …

Road Hazard: 20% of U.S. Drivers Would Flunk If Given Driving Test

The nation’s most knowledgeable drivers are in Idaho, Wisconsin, Montana and Kansas, while the least knowledgeable are in New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and California. That’s according to results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test, which found that …

Vatican Argues It’s Not Liable for Kentucky Priests’ Sex Abuse

The Vatican on Monday was to make its most detailed argument yet for why it is not liable for bishops who allowed priests to molest children in the U.S., in a motion that could affect other efforts to sue the …

Lawsuits Against Coal Firms Claim Mining Worsened Kentucky Floods

A lawsuit filed against two coal companies that blames mining and poor reclamation for worsening flooding around an eastern Kentucky creek has grown to include 72 plaintiffs. The suit, plus a second lawsuit with 15 plaintiffs, says heavy rain over …

Business Moves

Fiesta Auto Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Fiesta Auto Insurance, a franchise system to combine insurance and tax preparation under one roof, announced it has opened 20 new locations during the past 90 days. The company’s unprecedented growth phase has increased its …

People

New York-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm Integro has hired Robert H. Easton as deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer. Easton most recently served as deputy superintendent and general counsel for the New York State Department of Insurance. …

M&A Wrap Up: The Rollercoaster of M&A

January deal activity started out strong but continued to decline in February and further in March. Nonetheless, first quarter merger and acquisition (M&A) activity bested last year’s first quarter performance with 54 deals compared to 51. Despite the decline in …

Inspections Uncover Serious Safety Violations; 6 Kentucky Mines Closed

Hundreds of serious violations were discovered at 57 troubled U.S. coal mines during surprise inspections just days after the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years, federal regulators said recently. Six small Kentucky operations had so many problems that …

Wisconsin Gov. Signs Texting Bans; Insurers Warn Against All Distractions

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Dolye has signed legislation banning drivers from sending text messages while driving. Wisconsin joins Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska and Wyoming as the states to pass laws that ban all drivers from sending text messages this year, according …