Ohio News

Breckenridge Buys St. Louis Wholesale Broker IPSICO

Ohio-based wholesale insurance broker and program administrator Breckenridge Insurance Services has acquired the assets of International Placement Services, LC (IPSICO), a wholesale insurance brokerage firm in St. Louis. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is the fourth for Breckenridge, which …

Gov.-Elect Kasich Names Sen. Buehrer to Head Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau

Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich named Senator Steve Buehrer as administrator of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Buehrer, a Republican from Delta, becomes the fourth agency director of the Kasich Administration. Buehrer has been in the Senate since 2007. He previously …

Pre-Paid Funeral Services Controlling Officials Indicted

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the indictments of six controlling officials of National Prearranged Services Inc., in a 50-count indictment charging wire, bank, mail, and insurance fraud; money laundering; and multiple conspiracy charges involving the sale of pre-paid funeral services. …

Ohio to Require Electronic Funds Transfer for Insurance Product Filings

Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, the Ohio Department of Insurance will require fees for rate, rule and form filings be filed via the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filings (SERFF) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary …

Ohio Workers’ Comp Administrator Ryan Resigns

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator Marsha Ryan has resigned, effective Jan. 9, 2011. Ryan was appointed by Governor Ted Strickland and has served as BWC’s administrator since May 2007. Governor-Elect John Kasich is expected to name her replacement when …

Work-Related Deaths Decline in West Virginia

Work-related deaths in West Virginia have fallen to their lowest level since 2002. Preliminary figures released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show 41 workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries in 2009, down from 53 in 2008. Forty …

Burns & Wilcox Acquires Ohio Wholesale Agency

Independent wholesale broker and underwriting manager Burns & Wilcox, based in Farmington Hills, Mich., has acquired NorthCoast Excess & Surplus Agency – a wholesale brokerage and underwriting manager based in Cleveland, Ohio. Jeff Burke, president of NorthCoast Excess & Surplus …

How an E&O Claim Could Affect Agency Employee’s Career

Today’s soft insurance market, reduced commissions and a tough economy for agency owners and their clients might be adding to agency errors and omissions (E&O) exposures. But agency owners are not the only ones in an agency who should be …

North Carolina Escapes Storms; Will It Escape Florida’s Insurance Woes?

Earlier in 2010, Colorado State’s Tropical Meteorology Project forecasted eight hurricanes to emerge from 15 named tropical storms in the Atlantic basin. Of those, four were forecasted to become major hurricanes. On August 29, Tropical Storm Earl was upgraded to …

A.M. Best Assigns ‘A’ rating to Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” to Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. of Brea, Calif. The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable. VPI is a wholly owned subsidiary …