Latest Commercial Lines Headlines

All the headlines from our Commercial Lines Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Vermont Employers Wrestle With Health Insurance Change

Sep 19 2013 // Many Vermont employers are struggling with the decision whether to continue their workers on health insurance or allow them to buy it individually and take advantage of federal tax credits.At a forum Wednesday in...

Employers Making Benefit Changes Under Cover of Obamacare

Sep 19 2013 // Barack Obama wanted to change American health-care as we know it. And he is, in ways that go far beyond the goals of the Affordable Care Act.For weeks, headlines have cataloged the upheaval at private employers: UPS...

MarketScout Adds Bourret in Commercial Program Underwriting Practice

Sep 18 2013 // MarketScout, an insurance distribution and underwriting company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has expanded its commercial insurance specialty program underwriting practice with the addition of Jackie Bourret as vice...

Employer-Based Health Insurance Continues to Decline

Sep 18 2013 // The share of Americans who get health insurance through their jobs fell for the fourth straight year as aging baby boomers piled into the U.S. government’s Medicare plan and other adults sought coverage on their...

MarketScout Plans Expansion of Commercial Program Underwriting Practice

Sep 17 2013 // MarketScout, the national electronic insurance exchange and specialty MGA headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has expanded its commercial specialty program underwriting practice with the addition of Jackie Bourret as vice...

Louisiana Citizens Lowering Commercial Property Rates

Sep 16 2013 // The state-run property insurer of last resort in Louisiana plans to lower commercial rates.The Advocate reports the bulk of those cuts would benefit the 352 commercial policyholders Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance...

After Suggested Workers’ Comp Rate Hike California Employers Hope Reform Kicks In

Sep 13 2013 // The reaction from an employers’ group to a suggested hike in California’s advisory workers’ compensation rates of nearly 7 percent was – surprisingly – cautiously optimistic.The insurer and public...

Start-Up Health Insurance Co-Ops Vow to Compete with Commercial Insurers

Sep 13 2013 // They have rented offices and zero customers. All their capital is borrowed. They’re trying to sign the kind of expensive, chronically ill individuals that insurers have avoided for decades. In three weeks they face...

No Penalty for Employers Not Telling Employees About Obamacare

Sep 13 2013 // Employers will not face a penalty if they fail to inform their workers by Oct 1 about changes under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, the administration said, in what will likely come as a relief to many small...

Specialty Risk Associates Adds 3 Commercial Underwriters in Louisiana

Sep 12 2013 // Shreveport, La.-based Specialty Risk Associates Inc. announced the hiring of three new commercial lines underwriters – Ryan Gore, Laura Schlidt and Patti Haigler.Prior to joining Specialty Risk Associates, Gore...

Commercial Insurance Prices Continued Up in Q2: Towers Watson

Sep 10 2013 // Commercial insurance prices rose by six percent in aggregate during the second quarter of 2013, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of price increases, according to the latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey...

Main Street America Expands Commercial Products to Austin Mutual Agents in Oregon

Sep 10 2013 // The Main Street America Group has introduced its commercial product line, featuring its flagship main line business owners policy (Main Line BOP), to independent agents who represent the super-regional property/casualty...

Mississippi to Create Small Business Health Insurance Exchange

Sep 9 2013 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney plans to move ahead with a health insurance exchange for small businesses after federal officials approved regulations to allow the move.The Department of Health and Human...

Commercial Insurance Rate Hikes Continuing; Workers’ Comp Profit Ahead in 2014: Moody’s

Sep 9 2013 // Moody’s expects property/casualty commercial insurance rate hikes to continue for the balance of the year, making 2013 the third straight full year of rising rates for commercial lines carriers, according to a...

Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Employer Costs Rise: Study

Sep 9 2013 // Both workers’ compensation benefits paid to insureds and costs for employers increased in 2011, a new study revealed.Total workers’ comp costs to employers rose by 7.1 percent to $77.1 billion, while...

Florida’s Citizens Increasing Rates on Some Commercial Policies

Sep 6 2013 // Florida regulators have approved a first round of rate changes for the state-backed property insurer that include an 8.3 percent increase in condominium association multiperil policies.Citizens Property Insurance Corp. was...

Commercial Lines Pricing Held Steady in August: MarketScout

Sep 6 2013 // August, traditionally a slower month for commercial property/casualty insurance renewals, was true to form as the composite rate for the P/C market held steady at plus 4 percent, matching the index for July, according to...

Utah Registers 39 Workplace Deaths In 2012

Sep 4 2013 // New figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics show there were 39 workplace deaths in 2012 in Utah – the same total as the year before.The preliminary data shows that transportation-related deaths were the most frequent in...

Agents Who Understand Customers’ Businesses Boost Commercial Insurers: J.D. Power

Sep 3 2013 // Small commercial lines insurance customers most value having an insurance agent or broker who completely understands their individual business and helps them assess and manage their risk. The highest-ranked small business...

Wal-Mart Says It Could Loan $50M to Bangladesh Factories for Workplace Safety

Aug 30 2013 // Wal-Mart Stores Inc. told investors on Thursday that it could provide up to $50 million in low-interest loans or other types of payments to Bangladesh factory owners for building improvements.The money is part of the more...