Latest Maryland Headlines

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

Maryland Court: Premium Financing Firms Overcharged Auto Policyholders

Dec 30 2011 // A Maryland court ruled last week that the state’s largest premium financing companies were engaged in illegal financing practices against auto insurance policyholders.In Maryland, most auto insurance policyholders...

Maryland To Hold Hearing on Insurance Affordability for Coastal Areas

Dec 2 2011 // Maryland Insurance Administration will hold a two-day quasi-legislative public hearing, on Dec. 13 and 14, to discuss the availability and affordability for personal and commercial P/C insurance in coastal areas.Several...

Maryland Insurance Administration Announces Senior Appointments

Nov 23 2011 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner Therese Goldsmith recently announced three senior appointments at the Maryland Insurance Administration.Karen Stakem Hornig has been appointed as the administration’s sole deputy...

Maryland’s Highest Court Rules on Lead Paint Lawsuits

Oct 26 2011 // Maryland’s highest court has ruled that a law giving owners of certain rental properties immunity from personal injury lawsuits based on a child’s ingestion of lead-based paint is invalid.The Court of Appeals...

Penn.-based Insurance Agents & Brokers Hires Brinjac

Oct 14 2011 // Insurance Agents & Brokers Services Group in Pennsylvania appointed Lauren Brinjac as government affairs director. In her role, Brinjac will oversee legislative advocacy efforts of the organization throughout...

Former Maryland Insurance Commissioner Orr Joins Workers’ Comp Insurer

Oct 3 2011 // Former Maryland Insurance Commissioner R. Steven Orr has joined Towson, Md.-based IWIF Workers’ Compensation Insurance as senior vice president of information systems.In his new role, he will be responsible for...

Thousands of Maryland Drivers Ticketed for Cell Phone Use

Oct 3 2011 // Maryland police agencies have issued thousands of tickets to drivers for using hand-held cellphones behind the wheel in the year since a ban took effect.Records from more than 70 police agencies in the state that...

BB&T Expands in Baltimore Area, Acquires Atlantic Risk Management

Sep 28 2011 // Insurance broker BB&T Insurance Services is acquiring Atlantic Risk Management Corp. of Columbia, Maryland. The move allows BB&T Insurance Services to expand to the metro Baltimore area. The transaction is expected...

Maryland Brothers Acquitted in Alleged Murder-for-hire Plot

Sep 9 2011 // Two brothers accused of carrying out the slaying of a blind and mentally disabled man as part of an insurance scam have been found not guilty of all counts, including conspiracy to commit murder.James and Kareem Clea...

Earthquake, Hurricane Keep Maryland Insurance Agents Busy

Sep 1 2011 // First came the earthquake; then the hurricane.Now comes the bill. And with any luck, you have a decent insurance policy that will cover the cost of most, if not all, of the damages sustained in one or both natural...

Hurricane Irene Update: 50 Million People Could Be Affected

Aug 26 2011 // Parts of the southeastern United States were already experiencing dangerous swells and rip tides Thursday as Hurricane Irene exited the Bahamas. On Friday afternoon, ahead of Hurricane Irene’s forecasted arrival in...

Most Maryland Homeowner Policies Don’t Have Quake Coverage

Aug 26 2011 // Most Marylander homeowners aren’t likely to be covered for earthquake damage under their homeowner’s policies.The Insurance Information Institute [I.I.I.] said earthquakes are not covered under standard...

Maryland Brothers Face Trial for Murder-for-Hire Insurance Scam

Aug 24 2011 // Opening statements are expected this week in the trial of two brothers accused of carrying out the killing of a blind and mentally disabled man as part of an insurance scam in Baltimore. Jury selection has already begun in...

Maryland Hospital Settles Stent Claims for $1.8 Million

Aug 12 2011 // The Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland has agreed to settle allegations that it failed to take action to prevent medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures by a physician who had privileges...

Julio C. Shaik Joins Maryland’s IWIF as Chief Investment Officer

Aug 2 2011 // Julio C. Shaik, CFA, recently joined IWIF Workers’ Compensation Insurance as assistant vice president of investments and CIO. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Shaik manages IWIF’s investment portfolio and advises...

Maryland Casino Construction Site Collapse Kills Worker

Aug 1 2011 // Anne Arundel County officials say one construction worker was killed and another was injured when a 30-foot wall collapsed at the site of a casino being built at Arundel Mills Mall. Rescue workers were called to the site...

Good Morning NRRA! Home State Scenarios for Affiliated Groups

Jul 21 2011 // Welcome to the magical mystery tour of Home State taxation and regulation under Nonadmitted Insurance and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA). The NRRA went live at 12:01 a.m., July 21, 2011, in all time zones. You may...

Maryland Jury Awards $1.5B Verdict over Gas Leak

Jul 1 2011 // A Maryland jury in Maryland awarded plaintiffs suing Exxon Mobil more than $1.5 billion for a 2006 leak at a gasoline station, the Baltimore Sun reports.The Sun, quoting a source who had viewed the verdict, said the jury...

People

Jun 20 2011 // Willis has appointed Jana Rucker director of marketing for Willis Commercial Network – North America, where she will lead promotional marketing, communications and industry relations activities. She joins Willis from...

Goldsmith Named Maryland Insurance Commissioner

May 31 2011 // Therese Goldsmith has been appointed as Maryland’s insurance commissioner. She most recently served as commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Maryland. She was previously a partner in the law firm Hogan...