Montana News

Montana Workers’ Comp Reform Bill on Hold

A Montana workers’ compensation reform bill was put on hold Jan. 21, 2010, after its sponsor told a state House committee it would have to be heavily amended and suggested going with a “clean” version of the proposal in the …

Berte To Run AIA Western Region

The American Insurance Association (AIA) has announced that Marjorie Berte has joined the association as its new vice president for the Western Region. Berte’s career includes experience in both the public and private sectors, most recently with the state of …

2010 Was U.S. Coal Industry’s Deadliest Since 1992

The U.S. coal industry had its deadliest year in nearly two decades in 2010, with much of the death toll stemming from a single explosion. As of last week, 48 miners had died in the nation’s 1,500 coal mines over …

Flagstone Re Places $210 Million Cat Bond Using RMS Paradex Indices

Flagstone Reassurance Suisse SA and Risk Management Solutions have announced the successful placement of $210 million of multi-peril Montana Re 2010-1 Notes, the second offering sponsored through the Montana Re shelf program. RMS noted that it had “conducted the expert …

Montana Workers’ Comp Bill Changes Course

Members of a Montana state panel were told that their bill for workers’ compensation reform was “dead on arrival” in the House and would therefore introduce the package in the Senate in the hopes approval there would give it the …

Madison Ranked Safest Metropolitan Area to Live

Madison, Wis., is the most secure U.S. community among large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater) according to the seventh annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. Olympia, Wash., is the most …

Ratings Recap: State Auto National, Mountain West Farm Bureau

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on State Auto National Insurance Co. (SA National), a subsidiary of State Auto Financial Corp. and a member of SAG, on CreditWatch with negative implications. …

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. A-Side Directors & Officers Market Detail: Great American Insurance Group’s Executive Liability Division offers A-Side …

Safety Officials Warn 13 Mines in 7 States

Federal regulators late Friday warned 13 mining operations in seven states, including two owned by troubled Massey Energy Co., to show improvement on safety or face stricter enforcement. The Mine Safety and Health Administration says a 14th mining operation, Massey’s …

Wyoming Leads Nation with Highest Motor Vehicle Fatality Rate

Wyoming has the unfortunate record of having the highest rates of motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000 people, with a rate of 24.6, according the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis. According to the recent report, there were 30,797 fatal motor …