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Poms & Associates Adds Three in Southern California

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:06:29 +0000

Los Angeles, Calif.-based Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers Inc. named Chris Poveromo branch manager and senior vice president of property/casualty. Additionally, the firm named Mark Ulrich senior Vice president of employee benefits and property/casualty and Evelyn Castellanos as account executive …

50 Years On, Fire Still Burns Underneath Pennsylvania Town

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:59:05 +0000

It’s an anniversary the few remaining souls who live here won’t be celebrating. Fifty years ago, a fire at the town dump ignited an exposed coal seam, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to the demolition of …

Mass. Church Rebounds After 2011 Tornado; Insurance Covers $2M Repair

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:53:16 +0000

A year after a tornado downed its steeple, The First Church of Monson Congregational in Monson, Mass., is rebounding.The town’s oldest church became a disaster relief center after the June 1, 2011 storm that destroyed 40 homes in Monson and …

Travelers Introduces New Wind Credit for Fortified Homes in Texas

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:48:52 +0000

Travelers Insurance announced it is introducing a wind credit for fortified homes in Texas that meet established standards designed to resist the impacts of tropical storm and hurricane winds. Travelers currently offers similar credits in Alabama and Mississippi. “Homes built …

Oklahoma’s Emergency Price Stabilization Act in Effect After Storms

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:45:35 +0000

Oklahoma’s Emergency Price Stabilization Act is now in effect for 35 Oklahoma counties after Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency due to severe storms, straight line winds and flooding that began on May 29, the state’s attorney general …

Atlas Adds Rodgers as Senior Underwriter

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:34:07 +0000

San Diego, Calif.-based Atlas General Insurance Services LLC hired Kevin Rodgers as a senior underwriter. Rodgers comes to Atlas with underwriting experience from various insurance companies while working in workers’ comp underwriting departments. Prior to Atlas, he worked as a …

N.H.-Based Northern United Agents Alliance Announces New Member Agency

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:30:58 +0000

The Northern United Agents Alliance (NUAA), an independent agency partnership based in New Hampshire, said Hunkins & Eaton Insurance Agency has joined the group as its newest member. Founded in 1880, Littleton, N.H.-based Hunkins & Eaton Insurance Agency is an …

Mom Of War Vet Killed By Vegas Police Files Suit

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:29:01 +0000

The mother of a troubled Gulf War veteran who was shot dead in his car during a standoff with Las Vegas police is seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit claiming a lack of departmental training …

New Mexico Fire Over 216K Acres, 10% Contained

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:27:20 +0000

Firefighters made progress on the northern and western fronts of the Whitewater-Baldy complex fire in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest with the help of increased humidity levels. The fire has now consumed a reported 216,000 acres and is 10 percent …

AIG to Pay Penn. $16.8M to Settle Probe Over WC Premium Reporting

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:22:34 +0000

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine announced Thursday that American International Group and its workers comp insurance units will pay Pennsylvania more than $16.8 million in fines and assessments. The regulator said this reflects a settlement agreement in a multi-state probe …

ACE Private Risk, Generac Power Systems Launch Personal Lines Program

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:04:57 +0000

ACE Private Risk Services, the high net worth personal insurance business of the ACE Group, and Generac Power Systems, a manufacturer of generators and engine powered products, have formed a program to help ACE clients minimize potential disruptions to their …

Can Texas Escape Another Hurricane Season?

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:56:48 +0000

Today marks the start of another hurricane season and many Texans are wondering if we can go one more year without a destructive storm. The last hurricane to strike Texas proved to be the costliest. Hurricane Ike struck Galveston on …

Michigan Court Rules for Insurer in Tragic Hit-and-Run

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:52:57 +0000

The Michigan Supreme Court says an insurance company doesn’t have to pay benefits in a hit-and-run case because the incident wasn’t reported within 30 days. The court’s conservative majority overturned a decision by the state appeals court on May 30 …

Missouri Issues Warning About Agent Barred from Insurance Business

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:51:27 +0000

The Missouri Department of Insurance says it has received reports that an agent previously barred from the insurance business has been selling policies illegally. The department revoked the insurance license of former agent Wendi Glass and her company VMG Inc. …

SIAA Master Agency, CoVerica, Signs 50th Member Agency

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:44:49 +0000

Texas-based CoVerica Agency Alliance, a master agency member of SIAA, has signed its 50th member agency — Knott Insurance Group of Desoto, Texas — bringing SIAA’S national total to more than 4100 signed members. CoVerica Agency Alliance has been a …

Indiana Fair Lawsuits Won’t Go to Trial Until 2014

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:34:29 +0000

A group of lawsuits filed over last summer’s deadly Indiana State Fair stage collapse likely won’t go to trial for nearly two years. Lawyers handling the cases have asked Marion Superior Court Judge Theodore Sosin to set the case for …

N.J. Judge: Texter Not Liable for Driver’s Car Crash

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:01:57 +0000

A woman who texted her boyfriend while he was driving cannot be held liable for a car crash he caused while responding, seriously injuring a motorcycling couple, a judge in New Jersey ruled last Friday in what is believed to …

R Street Institute Launches ‘Right Street Blog’ on InsuranceJournal.com

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:38:57 +0000

The R Street Institute, a new insurance free market think tank, has launched an insurance issue-oriented blog on InsuranceJournal.com. The blog, titled Right Street Blog, is being authored by Eli Lehrer, president of R Street Institute, and Ray Lehmann, deputy …

Judge Slashes SeaWorld’s OSHA Fine for Death of Whale Trainer

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:58:01 +0000

SeaWorld Orlando’s $75,000 fine from the federal job safety agency for the death of a trainer by a killer whale two years ago has been reduced to $12,000, according to a judge’s ruling obtained Wednesday. The Associated Press acquired Judge …

Feds Shut Down 26 Bus Operators in Safety Crackdown

Joan Lowy — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:50:22 +0000

Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government’s largest single safety crackdown of the motor …

Fake Hurricane Helps Mississippi Responders Prepare for Real One

Holbrook Mohr — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:43:01 +0000

Hurricane Natasha was a fake storm, but Mississippi’s emergency responders treated it like it was the real thing. Natasha was a simulated Category 3 hurricane used Wednesday as part of a training exercise for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and …

Europe, U.S. Agree on Streamlining Air Cargo Safety

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:33:38 +0000

The European Commission and the U.S. Transport Security Administration have agreed to recognize each other’s air cargo security regimes, a move that will cut costs for carriers, an EU executive said on Friday. “Cutting out the duplication of security procedures …

Oracle Suffers Setback in Java Copyright Battle Against Google

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:28:08 +0000

A U.S. judge dismissed Oracle Corp.’s copyright claims against Google Inc. for parts of the Java programming language, knocking out Oracle’s prime vehicle for damages in a high stakes legal battle over smartphones. The ruling on Thursday from a San …

S&P to Factor Country Risk into Insurance Ratings

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:20:27 +0000

Standard & Poor’s will change the way it assigns global ratings to insurers, in part to increase the consideration of country risk in the way a company is evaluated, the credit ratings agency said on Thursday. The changes will apply …

Tennessee Court Nixes $2.7 Million Insurance Claim from Bar Fight

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:00:55 +0000

The Tennessee Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that said an insurance company must pay $2.7 million in damages for a bar fight in Hendersonville that left one man dead and injured another. The state’s highest court on Wednesday said …

Professional Liability Risks Evolve with Changes in Healthcare System

Stephanie K. Jones — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:22:37 +0000

National healthcare reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010 may or may not survive consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the healthcare system already has been evolving in ways that are likely to proceed regardless of the success or …

Bill to Create ‘Framework for Damages’ Passes Calif. Senate

Don Jergler — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:11:25 +0000

A bill its author says will provide a framework to measure damages when a plaintiff suffers injuries that passed the California Senate floor is being called by its detractors a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” effort to overturn the 2011 Howell …

N.J. Police Chief Convicted of Insurance Fraud Is Removed From Job

admin — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:22:06 +0000

A judge on Wednesday ordered a convicted New Jersey police chief to forfeit his job. A jury convicted Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa of official misconduct and insurance fraud two weeks ago. The Record newspaper reports the judge granted a …

USI Acquires Georgia’s Impact Benefit Management Services

admin — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:13:20 +0000

New York-based insurance broker USI Insurance Services has acquired Impact Benefit Management Services, LLC of Roswell, Georgia. USI said the acquisition is expected to contribute approximately $2.5 million in revenues an annual basis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. …

Hurry, Don’t Miss Out: Submit Today for Top 100 Independent Agency Recognition

admin — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:06:50 +0000

Once again, Insurance Journal is on the search for leading privately-held property casualty independent agencies and brokerages for its annual Top 100 Property/Casualty Independent Insurance Agencies report. Top Overall Independent Agencies, Top Commercial Lines Independent Agencies, Top Personal Lines Independent …