Latest Maryland Headlines

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

Maryland Commissioner Redmer Announces Sale of His Baltimore Agency

Mar 12 2015 // Maryland’s new insurance commissioner, Al Redmer, Jr., announced the sale of his agency Redmer Insurance Group LLC to two of the firm’s employees, Partner and Principal Agent Liz Mika and Partner Ann Ansel....

4 Health Insurers Fined $280K in Md. for Selling Unapproved Student Plans

Mar 10 2015 // Four health insurance companies paid a combined $280,000 in fines to the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) for selling unapproved health insurance plans to college students in Maryland, regulators announced last...

Redmer Takes Oath of Office as Maryland’s Insurance Commissioner

Mar 4 2015 // The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) announced that Al Redmer, Jr. took the oath of office on Feb. 27 to serve as Maryland’s insurance commissioner. Redmer succeeds Therese M. Goldsmith, who stepped down from...

Low Minimum Limits Unfairly Shift Financial Responsibility

Feb 23 2015 // For years, we’ve listened to those who beat the drum to maintain minimum liability insurance limits that have been in place for decades. They frame their viewpoint as pro-consumer, and on its surface, their message...

El Nino Forecasts Flop as Puzzled Scientists Search for Answers

Feb 6 2015 // When it comes to El Nino, 2014-15 may be the years that launched a thousand academic papers.Since last March, forecasters have said an El Nino was on the way. The only trouble is, it hasn’t arrived. Call it the...

Maryland Man Gets 4 Years in Prison for Setting House on Fire for Insurance

Feb 5 2015 // A Maryland man who pleaded guilty to plotting to burn down his house to collect insurance proceeds has been sentenced to four years in prison.Forty-nine-year-old Saleh Fakhoury of Lutherville, Maryland, was also ordered to...

Investigators Say Christmas Tree Fueled Fatal Maryland Mansion Fire

Jan 30 2015 // An electrical fire that spread to a 15-foot Christmas tree prompted a blaze that reduced a 16,000-square-foot riverfront mansion near Maryland’s capital to ruins, killing a couple and four of their young...

People – East

Jan 12 2015 // Maryland’s Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan has named Al Redmer, Jr. to be the state’s insurance commissioner.Maryland’s current insurance commissioner, Therese M. Goldsmith, previously announced that...

Redmer to Return as Maryland’s Insurance Commissioner

Dec 31 2014 // Al Redmer, Jr. Maryland’s Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan has named Al Redmer, Jr. to be the state’s insurance commissioner. Hogan made the announcement Tuesday at a press conference. Redmer held...

Home Safety Outreach Planned After 2 Fatal Fires in Maryland County

Dec 28 2014 // Prince George’s County, Maryland, fire officials went door-to-door in the Capitol Heights and Bowie areas to make sure families have working smoke alarms and an escape plan in the event of a fire.Their efforts on...

A.M. Best Reaffirms Chesapeake Employers’ Financial Strength Rating

Dec 24 2014 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company, the largest workers’ compensation insurance company in Maryland, announced that insurance ratings agency A.M. Best Co. has reaffirmed a financial strength rating of A-...

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Goldsmith to Step Down in January

Dec 23 2014 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner Therese M. GoldsmithMaryland Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Goldsmith — who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2011 for a four-year term that ends on May 31,...

Price Optimization Allegations Challenged, NAIC Investigating Practice

Dec 18 2014 // Reaction to industry-wide price optimization allegations from a consumer group known to call out insurers has been somewhat critical yet guarded – however it appears regulators may already be starting to look into the...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Independent Benefit Services in Maryland

Dec 17 2014 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. today announced the acquisition of Independent Benefit Services Inc. (iBEN) located in Rockville, Maryland. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1989, iBEN provides...

Maryland Firm to Pay $415K to Settle EEOC Discrimination Suit

Nov 18 2014 // A Maryland-based environmental remediation services contractor will pay $415,000 and provide comprehensive equitable relief to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) race, gender discrimination and...

Maryland Says Insurers Can’t Use ‘Price Optimization’

Nov 17 2014 // The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) issued a bulletin alerting insurers that the use of “price optimization” in Maryland is in violation of §27-212(e)(1) of the state’s Insurance Article.MIA said...

Hudson Insurance Acquires Surety Partners’ Northeast Operation

Nov 13 2014 // Hudson Insurance Group has acquired the underwriting operations of Surety Partners of America, Northeast, which is based in Chester, New Jersey.Surety Partners of America, which was formed in 2009, is licensed and operates...

Md. Court Overturns $500K Verdict, Says Insurance Issue Likely Prejudiced Jury

Nov 4 2014 // A Maryland appeals court has overturned a $500,000 verdict to a woman who was hit by a truck because the trial judge erred by allowing the jury to hear that the driver’s liability insurance had been cancelled because...

Maryland Insurers Using ‘Price Optimization’ Ordered to File Corrective Action Plan

Nov 3 2014 // The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) issued a bulletin alerting insurers that the use of “price optimization” in Maryland is in violation of §27-212(e)(1) of the state’s Insurance Article.MIA said...

Maryland County Eyes Doubling Fines for Passing School Buses

Oct 17 2014 // Police have issued tickets to 730 drivers for passing stopped school buses in Maryland’s Montgomery County in the past nine months.Police say that number is way too high. In Maryland’s Washington County, just...