Latest Massachusetts Headlines

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

Beecher Carlson to Refund $90K Under Massachusetts Settlement

Feb 25 2010 // Insurance brokerage Beecher Carlson will refund over $90,000 to several Massachusetts clients who were not told the firm was receiving commissions from insurers in addition to client-paid fees, as part of a settlement with...

Business Moves

Feb 21 2010 // OneBeacon, Tower GroupMassachusetts-based OneBeacon Insurance Group has agreed to sell its personal lines business to Tower Group Inc. in a deal that comprises two affiliate insurers and two reciprocal insurance exchanges...

Massachusetts Settles with Five Auto Insurers over Unreported Appeals

Feb 17 2010 // Five more auto insurers in Massachusetts have reached settlements with the state’s attorney general over their failure to update at-fault accident information for drivers whom they insure.The companies involved in...

Mass. Supreme Court Rules Against Agents in Auto Insurance Lawsuit

Feb 16 2010 // The Massachusetts Supreme Court has sided with the state’s insurance commissioner in a heated lawsuit brought by the state’s insurance agents and Arbella Mutual Insurance Co. over how new companies are assigned...

Massachusetts City Seeks $1.3M from Water Contractor

Feb 11 2010 // The city of Gloucester, Massachusetts has filed a $1.3 million insurance claim against the company that ran its drinking water system during last summer’s contamination crisis that required a nearly three-week long...

Massachusetts Settles With Commerce over Insurance Appeals Errors

Feb 9 2010 // Massachusetts has reached a settlement with the Bay State’s largest auto insurer, Commerce Insurance Co., over its failure to report at-fault auto accident determinations made by the state’s board of appeals,...

Murphy Named Insurance Commissioner in Massachusetts

Feb 9 2010 // Joseph G. Murphy has been named commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.Murphy has served as first deputy commissioners since 2006, playing active roles in the implementation of the managed competition auto...

Massachusetts Encouraging Brokerage Agreements for Former ERPs

Feb 5 2010 // Most Massachusetts insurance agents who were appointed as exclusive representative producers (ERPs) under the state’s previous insurance regime have obtained voluntary contracts with insurers or have merged with...

Ratings Recap: Mass. Homeland/York, Rockhill, Paratransit, MGA,

Feb 3 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has placed the financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a” of Massachusetts Homeland Insurance Company and York Insurance Company of Maine under...

Massachusetts Woman Dies After Being Struck by Fire Hose

Feb 2 2010 // An 82-year-old Massachusetts woman struck by a fire hose that had come loose from a Cambridge fire engine that was responding to call has died.Cambridge police says Gertrude King died Thursday morning at Massachusetts...

Massachusetts to Allow Surcharge Appeals for Recalled Vehicles

Feb 1 2010 // Massachusetts insurance regulators will allow some Toyota drivers who were involved in accidents linked to unintended acceleration to appeal insurance surcharges assessed by their carriers.The move follows Toyota’s...

Couple Sues Massachusetts Hospital over Death of Children

Jan 27 2010 // The parents of two children whose aunt carried them onto a highway where all three were struck and killed, have sued a psychiatric hospital for allegedly failing to properly treat the woman’s mental illness.Ken and...

Massachusetts Safety Officials Warn of Home Oxygen Risks

Jan 25 2010 // Massachusetts fire safety officials have begun a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of home oxygen use.Fire officials say home oxygen use has been a factor in 24 fire deaths and 50 serious injuries in...

Republican Win in Massachusetts Could Jeopardize Healthcare Bill

Jan 20 2010 // In a stunning blow to President Barack Obama, Republican Scott Brown won a bitter U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts Tuesday and promised to be the deciding vote against his sweeping healthcare overhaul.Brown’s win...

Mass. Officials Pinpoint Cause of Fire That Injured 6

Jan 15 2010 // Fire investigators say a weekend blaze at a Malden apartment building that sent six people to the hospital was caused by an electrical problem.The fire forced dozens from their homes early Saturday morning and caused an...

Safety Agrees to Change Motorcycle Premium Calculations in Massachusetts

Jan 15 2010 // Boston-based insurer Safety Insurance Group Inc. said it has reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office to change the way in which it calculated motorcycle insurance premiums for certain...

Insurance Agents Fined for Not Having Written Security Plans

Jan 10 2010 // Recent headlines underscore the importance of agents having written security plans to protect the privacy of their clients’ personal information. Not only could a breach of clients’ personal information...

Report: Deregulation Made Massachusetts Auto Insurance Market Worse

Jan 10 2010 // The deregulation of the Massachusetts auto insurance market has driven up prices, boosted insurer profits, reduced consumer protections and generally created confusion in the marketplace, according to a new report by the...

Man Arrested in Massachusetts Arson Spree

Jan 6 2010 // Authorities have made an arrest in connection with a fire in Northampton, Massachusetts that claimed the life of an elderly man and his son.District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said in a statement that 25-year-old Anthony...

Task Force Formed to Probe Massachusetts Fires

Dec 29 2009 // A task force of state, regional and federal officials is investigating a string of suspicious weekend fires in Massachusetts, including one in which two people died. At least nine fires were reported early Sunday in houses...