Latest Hawaii Headlines

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

Insurance Journal’s Top 10 West Region Stories of 2019

Jan 2 2020 // California wildfires dominated the news in Insurance Journal’s Western region in 2019, despite it being a quiet year relative to two consecutive years of deadly blazes that came before.Three of the year’s top...

Helicopter Tours Criticized After Deadly Hawaii Crash

Dec 31 2019 // Tour helicopter operations in Hawaii are under increased scrutiny after a deadly crash this week, one of several recent accidents in the state, with a congressman calling the trips unsafe and lacking proper oversight.A...

Undisclosed Settlement Reached over Deadly Hawaii High-Rise Fire

Nov 18 2019 // Plaintiffs and defendants reached a settlement over a deadly Honolulu high-rise fire, although the amounts to be paid by insurance companies remains confidential, attorneys said.A settlement conference concluded in early...

Undisclosed Settlement Reached Over Deadly Hawaii High-Rise Fire

Nov 8 2019 // Plaintiffs and defendants reached a settlement over a deadly Honolulu high-rise fire, although the amounts to be paid by insurance companies remains confidential, attorneys said.A settlement conference concluded Tuesday...

Declarations

Sep 16 2019 // “We have a lot more work that we need to get done. Despite Florida’s history of hurricanes, people are slow to make changes to improve their situation.”Lisa Lindsay, president of the Private Risk...

Hawaii Employers Mutual Declares $3.5M Dividend for Workers’ Comp Policyholders

Sep 12 2019 // The board of Hawai`i Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company Inc. has declared a $3.5 million dividend payable to qualifying policyholders.HEMIC says that with this dividend it will have returned over $38 million dollars...

Island Insurance Board in Hawaii Names Tokioka Chairman

Sep 9 2019 // Honolulu, Hawaii-based Island Insurance Company, Ltd. has named Tyler Tokioka chairman of the board. He succeeds Colbert Matsumoto, who will remain a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Tokioka first joined...

Employers Moving into Hawaii with Its Workers’ Comp

Sep 4 2019 // Employers Inc. is now offering workers’ compensation insurance policies in Hawaii. The expansion has Employers providing workers’ comp to small businesses nationally, excluding four monopolistic...

$15.1M Settlement Over Police Crash in Hawaii County

Sep 4 2019 // Hawaii County has agreed to pay a $15.1 million settlement to the family of a Michigan man who was struck and killed by a police patrol car.The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that 63-year-old Jeffrey Surnow was riding a...

Hemp Crops in Hawaii Unusable Because of High THC Levels

Aug 28 2019 // More than half of hemp crops cultivated in Hawaii in the past year were unusable due to high THC levels, officials said.The crops cultivated for the state’s hemp industry tested above the federal limit for the...

Empire Underwriters Expands Programs into Hawaii

Aug 9 2019 // Empire Underwriters, an MGA, surplus lines broker and wholesaler in business insurance underwriting and services, has launched new programs available in the State of Hawaii.The new programs include its Main Street Workers...

Hawaii Retailers Sued for Mislabeling Kona Brew

Aug 2 2019 // Hawaii coffee farmers have filed a lawsuit against major retailers after scientific tests confirm Kona coffee is mislabeled as authentic.West Hawaii Today reported Tuesday that three Kona coffee farmers say a coffee...

Tropical Storm Erich Forms, Expected to Become Hurricane as It Heads Toward Hawaii

Jul 29 2019 // Tropical Storm Erich has formed in the Pacific far off the western coast of Mexico and is predicted to become a hurricane by Monday night as it moves over open waters on a path that could take it near the Hawaiian Islands...

State Farm Cuts Auto Insurance Rates in Hawaii

Jul 16 2019 // State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. will cut its rates in Hawaii for the third time in two years, the company announced. As a result, its overall personal auto rate will drop by 2.6 percent. The total state-wide...

NTSB: 2 Skydivers Joined Doomed Hawaii Flight at Last Minute

Jul 11 2019 // The National Transportation Safety Board says two skydivers made a last-minute decision to board the Hawaii plane that crashed and killed 11 people last month.The NTSB’s preliminary report gave no cause for the...

Alert Level Raised for Large Hawaii Volcano

Jul 9 2019 // Officials have raised the alert level for the world’s largest active volcano, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984.The U.S. Geological Survey changed the level from “normal” to...

Hawaii Including Gender X on State Driver’s Licenses

Jul 2 2019 // Hawaii will soon provide drivers the option to select “X” as their gender on licenses.Democratic Gov. David Ige was expected to sign the bill aimed at reducing discrimination against transgender and gender...

Feds Probing Repairs Made on Plane in Hawaii Crash

Jun 25 2019 // Federal investigators will review repair and inspection records on the skydiving plane that became inverted before crashing shortly after takeoff on Oahu’s North Shore, killing all 11 people on board in the deadliest...

Forecasters Say Hawaii May Have Busy Hurricane Season

Jun 3 2019 // Hawaii and the Central Pacific could experience more storms than normal during this year’s hurricane season.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in late May that there will be five to eight...

Beer Settlement Offers Partial Refunds Over ‘Hawaii’ Claims

May 31 2019 // The maker of Kona beer agreed to offer partial refunds to settle a lawsuit claiming it misled consumers in the continental United States into believing the craft brew was actually made in Hawaii, causing them to...