Latest Maine Headlines

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

Five Dead, 40 Missing After Crude Oil Freight Train Explosion in Canada

Jul 7 2013 // At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raised fresh questions about shipping oil by...

Maine Cancer Patient Gets $200K for Misdiagnosis

Jun 17 2013 // A Maine man who was told he had only months to live because of an aggressive Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is still alive more than four years later. And a jury has awarded him $200,000 for the doctor’s misdiagnosis.It...

Veto of Maine Workplace Bullying Bill Upheld

Jun 11 2013 // Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill aimed at bullying in the workplace will stand.The Maine House of Representatives last week voted 87-56 to sustain the governor’s veto, short of the two-thirds majority...

Maine Highway Deaths Down From 2012

Jun 10 2013 // Highway safety officials say traffic deaths are down in Maine. The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety says 42 people have died on Maine roads so far this year. There were 53 deaths at this time last year. But officials caution...

Maine Legislature Votes Down Vacant Property Insurance Bill

May 21 2013 // The Maine Legislature last week voted down a bill that sought to place stricter requirements on home insurers’ use of exclusions for losses on vacant homes.The bill LD 1413 (“An Act to Clarify Limitations on...

Business Moves

Apr 22 2013 // Tower Group, CanopiusTower Group Inc. closed its merger with Canopius Holdings Bermuda Ltd. Tower becomes an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopius Bermuda, which will change its name effective at the closing to...

Maine-Based Agencies Turner Barker, Clark Insurance to Merge

Apr 4 2013 // Turner Barker Insurance, a Portland, Maine-based agency which had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Gorham Savings Bank for the past dozen years, will soon merge with Clark Insurance, an agency also based in Portland....

MEMIC Group Appoints Manager of Maine Advocate Operations

Apr 2 2013 // The MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurer headquartered in Portland, Maine, announced the promotion of Troy McLain to manager of Maine advocate operations.Troy McLainMcLain began at MEMIC in 1997, serving as a...

Maine, Rhode Island Granted Disaster Aid for February Storm

Mar 27 2013 // Maine will be eligible for federal help to cover the costs of a blizzard that hit in early February.President Barack Obama on Monday approved Gov. Paul LePage’s request for a disaster declaration. The declaration...

Mainers Urged to Consider Flood Insurance

Mar 18 2013 // State officials are urging Mainers to consider buying flood insurance if their home or business is located close to a body of water. The Maine Floodplain Management Program says standard home- and business-owners’...

Maine’s Cross Insurance Appoints Vice President of Commercial Lines

Mar 6 2013 // Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Bangor, Maine-based Cross Financial Corp. and one of the largest independent insurance providers in New England, hired Michael Dufour as vice president of commercial lines at the...

Bill to Mandate Motorcycle Helmets Aired in Maine

Feb 15 2013 // The latest proposal to again make helmet use mandatory for all Maine motorcyclists was couched Tuesday, Feb. 12, by supporters as a public safety issue and by opponents as a matter of personal freedom.Medical groups joined...

Maine-Based Workers’ Comp Insurer MEMIC Group Announces 2 Promotions

Feb 13 2013 // The MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurer headquartered in Portland, Maine, announced the promotions of Matthew Harmon and Daniel Smith to assistant vice president of claim operations.Matthew Harmon and Daniel...

SeaFire Insurance Seeks Agency Partners in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine

Feb 12 2013 // SeaFire Insurance Services said it is actively seeking new agency partners in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine for its exclusive auto dealer and repair insurance program. SeaFire said it will consider appointments for...

Northeast Trying to Get Back on Track After Snowstorm

Feb 11 2013 // Emergency crews and residents struggled to clear roadways and sidewalks from a storm that rampaged through the Northeast, dumping up to 3 feet of snow and bringing howling winds that knocked out power to hundreds of...

Northeast Blizzard Hit Like a Hurricane

Feb 10 2013 // A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 700,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least nine people dead.The mammoth storm that...

Maine Regulators Recovered More Than $3M for Consumers in 2012

Feb 8 2013 // Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa said the state’s Bureau of Insurance recovered more than $3 million for Maine consumers in 2012.Nearly $2.2 million was recovered for consumers by the Bureau’s...

Workers’ Compensation Insurer MEMIC Expanding to Florida

Feb 6 2013 // Portland, Maine-based workers’ compensation insurer The MEMIC Group said it will open its first office in Florida in the second quarter of 2013.MEMIC President and CEO John T. Leonard said the company’s plan to...

Cross Insurance Buys Bond Specialty Agency Skillings Shaw in Maine

Jan 30 2013 // Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Maine-based Cross Financial Corp., and one of the largest independent insurance agencies in New England, recently acquired Skillings Shaw & Associates, a Lewiston, Maine-based bond...

Maine Adopts Uniform Standard for ‘Independent Contractor’

Jan 28 2013 // Maine has recently adopted a new, uniform standard for who can be classified as an “independent contractor” for worker’s comp and other employment-related cases.The change went into effect on Dec. 31,...