Latest Illinois Headlines

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

State Farm Strikes Again on Ill. Rates

Sep 20 2004 // Exclusive-agent personal lines giant State Farm Insurance Co. announced that it will cut Illinois homeowners and auto insurance rates, effective Nov. 1 for new insureds and renewals. Homeowners insurance premiums will see...

Ill.’s Gov. Blagojevich Appoints Ex-Judge to Mediate Med-Mal Negotiations

Sep 17 2004 // After months of partisan and special interest stalemate over medical malpractice reform in the Illinois General Assembly, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has appointed a former judge and hospital lawyer to mediate ongoing...

Ill. Homeowners Complaints Up 2nd Year in Row

Aug 26 2004 // While Illinois consumers filed fewer complaints about their insurance companies and HMOs in 2003, complaints regarding homeowners insurers were up for the second consecutive year, according to statistics released by the...

Producers Caught in Multistate Surplus Lines Web

Aug 23 2004 // A solution that is both simple and fair is the creation of an interstate compact like the one under review by NAPSLO’s legislative committee.Surplus line producers have benefited greatly from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley...

Grillo Confirmed as Head of New Ill. Super-Department

Aug 10 2004 // The Illinois Senate voted 53-0 to confirm Fernando E. Grillo as head of the new super-department into which the state’s insurance department has been consolidated. Grillo will head the Department of Financial and...

The Expanding Ability of an Insurer to Recoup Costs Expended for Uncovered Claims

Aug 4 2004 // Insurers are routinely presented with complaints filed against their insureds where some of the complaint’s allegations do not fall within the coverage provided by an insured’s insurance policy.Nevertheless,...

Med-Mal, Comp Left on Table as Ill. Lawmakers Finally Adjourn

Aug 3 2004 // Although the Illinois General Assembly just wrapped up the longest overtime in state history, several bills critical to the insurance industry fell by the wayside due to ongoing political wrangling and the overshadowing...

AIA: Latest ‘Solution’ to Address Illinois’ Med-Mal Crisis Falls Short

Jul 23 2004 // The latest proposal to address the medical malpractice and access to care crisis in Illinois falls short of meaningful liability reform and contains highly objectionable language that may promote more litigation, the...

IHA: Illinoisans Need Legislative Action on Medical Liability Reform

Jul 23 2004 // Despite reported overwhelming support by the public and rank-and-file legislators for meaningful reforms to address Illinois’ medical liability crisis, legislators are reportedly being presented with a proposal...

The Guaranty Fund System: A Vital Safety Net

Jul 22 2004 // Suzanne SahakianProperty/casualty guaranty funds were created by state statutes beginning in the late 1960s to protect the public against financial losses to policyholders and claimants as a result of property and casualty...

The Guaranty Fund System: A Vital Safety Net

Jul 19 2004 // Property/casualty guaranty funds were created by state statutes beginning in the late 1960s to protect the public against financial losses to policyholders and claimants as a result of property and casualty insurance...

Budget Dominates Ill. Special Sessions

Jul 12 2004 // Although the 2004 Illinois legislative session continues into overtime with several insurance issues left on the table, it is unlikely that legislators will focus on anything but restoring a viable budget, according to a...

First State Delaware Last on .08 Blood-Alcohol Drunken Driving Law

Jul 5 2004 // Lighting up a cigarette in a bar in Georgetown, Delaware is unlawful, but you can get more drunk in Delaware than anywhere in the nation and still be allowed to get behind the wheel.“Delaware’s got so many laws...

West Bend Mutual: In With the New, and Hang On to the Old

Jun 21 2004 // Thanks to a hard market, a light catastrophic claims load and consistent underwriting, a little mutual based out of West Bend, Wis., was able to surpass the $1 billion asset mark at the end of 2003 for the first time in...

Regional Focus

Jun 21 2004 // Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once famously said, “All politics is local.” The same could be said for the insurance industry—insurance coverage is definitely local. In addition, there...

SECURA: Looking to Sustain Hard-Market Success

Jun 18 2004 // The CEO of Appleton, Wis.-based SECURA Insurance Cos., John Bykowski, took some time recently to talk with IJ during the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin’s annual convention. SECURA has total assets of $406...

Illinois DOI Folded Into New Department; Gov. Blagojevich Names Acting Director

Jun 17 2004 // The acting director of the Illinois Department of Labor has been promoted to oversee Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s consolidation of four financial and regulatory agencies, including the Department of Insurance. Blagojevich...

New Illinois Med-Mal Carrier to Focus on Aggressive Defense Tactics

Jun 8 2004 // The Professional Liability Insurance Company of America (PLICA), announced that it now offers physicians in the Illinois malpractice market a professional liability insurance product that has been developed and designed to...

Elderly Drivers Pose Growing Challenge for States and Auto Insurers

Jun 7 2004 // As the nation’s population ages, states are looking for ways to weed out people who shouldn’t drive.Half the states have passed some form of elderly driver restrictions, usually laws that require older...

Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Would Veto Med-Mal Caps

Jun 1 2004 // Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he would veto legislation that tries to slow the growth in malpractice insurance rates by capping some lawsuit awards, an idea being considered by the Illinois House.“I oppose caps...