Latest Commercial Lines Headlines

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

Louisiana Governor Requests Federal Small Business Disaster Loans for 2 Parishes

Mar 17 2020 // Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has requested that the Small Business Administration (SBA) provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans for Orleans and Jefferson parishes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.While this request...

Oklahoma House Passes Bill Changing Commercial Driver’s License Renewal Process

Mar 11 2020 // A bill shifting renewal of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) from offices of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles to local tag agencies passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives this afternoon.House Bill 1966 was...

Small Businesses in Seattle Pinched as Virus Keeps Workers Home

Mar 11 2020 // The coronavirus outbreak has largely emptied Seattle’s usually busy downtown streets after Amazon and other companies told tens of thousands of people to work from home. That means far fewer customers for...

How Shaming Works to Improve Workplace Safety: Viewpoint

Mar 10 2020 // Can a press release save lives?No doubt about it. At least if it comes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and it publicizes a serious violation of the occupational safety and health laws. The tale...

What Small Business Wants

Mar 9 2020 // Small business doesn’t mean small-in-size when it comes to the commercial insurance market.Direct written premiums ranged between $99 billion and $103 billion in 2013, up from $91 billion in 2011, according to...

Board Finalizes Rule Scaling Back Joint Employer Liability for Franchisees, Contractors

Mar 9 2020 // A U.S. labor board finalized a rule that will make it more difficult to hold companies liable for unlawful labor practices by franchisees and contractors, reversing a more worker-friendly Obama-era standard criticized by...

Verisk Expands Insurtech Solution OneXperience into Commercial Insurance

Mar 5 2020 // Insurance data analytics and risk modeling firm Verisk announced the expansion of its new insurtech solution OneXperience into commercial insurance.This expansion will enable agents and businesses to engage and closely...

Small Business Insurance Digital Distributor, Insureon, Expands Leadership Team in Chicago

Mar 4 2020 // Insureon, a Chicago-based digital distributor small business insurance, has created a new leadership team comprised of experts across the insurance, insurtech, and technology industries.Dan Kazan, CEO and member of the...

Direct Sales of Small Business Insurance Poised to Grow to $12B by 2025: Novarica

Mar 4 2020 // Over the past decade, selling small commercial insurance directly online to customers has gone from an outlandish idea to a reality. In a new report, research and advisory firm Novarica projects significant growth in the...

Pie Insurance Expands Workers’ Comp Coverage to Small Businesses in Missouri

Mar 4 2020 // Pie Insurance, an insurtech offering workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses, has expanded its workers’ compensation insurance offering to Missouri. The addition increases Pie’s coverage area...

Texas Insurer Hallmark Financial Exiting Binding Primary Commercial Auto Business

Mar 3 2020 // Citing loss development for prior underwriting years, Dallas-based specialty property/casualty insurer Hallmark Financial Services Inc., is exiting its Binding Primary Auto business.The commercial auto product the company...

Nationwide, Generali Form Joint Venture N2G to Sell Multinational Commercial Lines

Feb 27 2020 // Trieste, Italy meet Columbus, Ohio. Ciao! Hello!Two large insurers — Ohio’s Nationwide and Italy’s Generali — are teaming up to serve commercial insurance customers with global needs. The insurers announced...

Board Finalizes Rule Scaling Back Joint Employer Liability for Franchisees, Contractors

Feb 25 2020 // A U.S. labor board on Tuesday finalized a rule that will make it more difficult to hold companies liable for unlawful labor practices by franchisees and contractors, reversing a more worker-friendly Obama-era standard...

Small Businesses Hope Employees Like Wellness Benefits Enough to Stay

Feb 24 2020 // Every month, the 30 staffers at Chris Boehlke’s public relations firm each get $100 to pay for anything that contributes to their wellness. And not just for typical expenditures like gym memberships or yoga...

Why Comparing Drug Prices Drops Costs for Employers and Patients

Feb 24 2020 // A University of California at Berkeley study has found that a “reference pricing model” — comparing brand name and generic medications and adjusting co-pays to encourage patients to choose the lowest cost...

RLI to Offer Samsara IoT Loss Control Services to Trucking, Commercial Auto Clients

Feb 19 2020 // RLI Transportation, a division of RLI Insurance Company, has partnered with Samsara, an industrial IoT company that provides sensors and software to manage vehicle fleets and industrial operations. The partnership will...

Missouri Man Sentenced for Stealing Almost $4M from Former Employer

Feb 14 2020 // A Kirkwood, Mo., man has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $3.8 million in restitution after being convicted of stealing that amount from his former employer, the U.S....

AssuredPartners Acquires Nevada West Business Insurance Agency, Inc.

Feb 14 2020 // AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Nevada West Business Insurance Agency Inc. in Las Vegas, Nev.The team of five will remain under the operational leadership of Jeff Maren. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.Nevada...

Wisconsin’s Integrity Names Messerschmidt as Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager

Feb 13 2020 // Integrity Insurance, a property & casualty carrier headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, has promoted Lisa Messerschmidt to commercial lines underwriting manager.Messerschmidt will be responsible for leading a group of...

Louisiana Small Business Protection Act Now in Effect

Feb 12 2020 // Louisiana’s Small Business Protection Act (SBPA), passed in the 2019 Legislative Session and effective as of Feb. 1, aims to help make small business owners aware of proposed regulations that could negatively impact...