Latest Maryland Headlines

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

Business Moves

May 3 2010 // ForemostForemost Insurance Group has launched its DistinctChoice Auto program in Connecticut. The auto program features increased limits, deductible options and coverages. The program also offers broad eligibility and...

Maryland Plaintiffs Awarded $400K for Contaminated Wells

Apr 26 2010 // A Maryland oil company has been found responsible for polluting wells in Carroll County with the toxic gasoline additive known as MTBE.A jury awarded nearly $400,000 in damages to four families who lived near a Jiffy Mart...

Hospitals Shifting Costs to Auto Insurance System, Study Finds

Apr 22 2010 // Low reimbursements from public health insurance programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, have prompted hospitals to shift costs to automobile insurance companies—raising auto injury claim costs and forcing auto...

Families of 2 Maryland Miners File Wrongful Death Suit

Apr 20 2010 // The families of two western Maryland coal miners who died in a 2007 highwall collapse near Barton are seeking $8 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.The families of Dale Jones and Michael Wilt filed the complaint Thursday...

Spring Brings New Crop of Fraud Laws in Northeast

Apr 19 2010 // Fraud bills are blooming like azalea bushes around the East this spring, and statehouses are rife with upside potential for substantive new fraud laws in 2010.This counters the recent logic that many state lawmakers are...

Insurers’ Group Comments on End of Sessions in Maine, Maryland

Apr 15 2010 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) says the P/C industry made some positive legislative steps in Maine and Maryland this year, although the trade group says it was disappointed with a Maryland law that will raise the...

PURE to Offer Personal Lines Coverage in Maryland and D.C.

Apr 13 2010 // New York-based Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) said it would begin offering personal lines coverage to owners of high-value homes in Maryland and Washington D.C..The company, a member- owned reciprocal...

Maryland Lawmakers Ban Hand-Held Phones While Driving

Apr 12 2010 // Maryland drivers will have to use handsfree devices to talk on cell phones while driving under legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly on Friday.The House of Delegates voted 125-14 to pass a measure already...

Maryland House Approves Auto Liability Insurance Hike

Mar 25 2010 // Maryland drivers would likely see their car insurance payments increase under a bill backed by the state House.Maryland’s House of Delegates voted 97 to 36 Tuesday to raise the minimum amount of auto liability...

Maryland Claims Adjuster Convicted of Theft

Feb 24 2010 // A former claims adjuster for Progressive in Maryland has been sentenced for stealing more than $39,000 from the insurer, according to the state’s attorney general.Chae Hyong Chu, has been sentenced on a single count...

Maryland Governor Backs Ignition Lock for Drunk Drivers

Feb 22 2010 // Gov. Martin O’Malley said Thursday he would support requiring first-time drunk drivers to install ignition locking systems in their vehicles, so they couldn’t drive them if they’ve had too much to...

Snow Causes $1.5M in Damage to Maryland Zoo

Feb 19 2010 // Officials at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore say $1.5 million in damage after two recent snowstorms will delay the attractions’ opening by up to a month. Insurance adjusters declared the Maryland aviary a total loss,...

Storm Prompts Maryland to Ask Insurers for Leniency on Cancellations

Feb 10 2010 // The Maryland Insurance Administration has issued a bulletin insurers in the state asking them to accommodate policyholders who have been impacted by last week’s massive snowstorm.Gov. Martin O’Malley declared a...

B&B Insurance Agency Opens in Maryland

Feb 9 2010 // B&B Insurance Agency & Bail Bonds has opened in Salisbury, Maryland. Agency Principal LaVerne Marie Boone says the recently established agency offers policies from a several insurers — including Foremost and...

Collapse Concerns Grow as Snowstorm Slams Eastern States

Feb 8 2010 // Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. were particularly battered by a weekend snowstorm that caused massive power outages and resulted in moderate structural damage to areas in the region.At least two deaths were...

Philadelphia Man Helped Stage Robbery to Collect Workers’ Comp

Feb 5 2010 // A Philadelphia man who staged a fake robbery and shot his own cousin as part of an elaborate conspiracy to help the cousin collect workers’ compensation insurance has pleaded guilty in Maryland to a single count of...

Lawsuit Filed Against Maryland Hospital over Stents

Feb 1 2010 // Attorneys have filed a class-action lawsuit against a Baltimore-area hospital that recently informed more than 350 patients that they may have received unnecessary heart stents.St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson recently...

People

Jan 24 2010 // Colemont Insurance Brokers has promoted Tara Plourde to broker in the company’s Hartford, Connecticut office. She joined Colemont in 2008. Prior to Colemont, she was a commercial lines underwriter at a standard lines...

Sammis Named Interim Maryland Commissioner

Jan 11 2010 // Elizabeth “Beth” Sammis has been appointed Interim Maryland Insurance Commissioner, overseeing the regulation of Maryland’s $26 billion insurance industry.Sammis has served as deputy commissioner for the...

Foremost Offers New Auto Product in Maryland

Jan 7 2010 // Foremost Insurance Group is offering a new auto insurance program in Maryland that includes increased limit and deductible options.The new program, called DistinctChoice Auto, includes multi-policy discounts (Farmers,...