Latest Montana Headlines

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

Montana Bill Would Send Workers’ Comp Out for Bid

Feb 3 2011 // A Montana senator believes the state might save money if part of the workers’ compensation program were administered by a private insurance company.Sen. Jim Keane urged members of the Senate Business, Labor, and...

Montana Businesses Forming Captives to Reap Economic Benefits

Feb 2 2011 // Montana licensed a record 26 captive insurance companies in 2010, boosting the number of captives at year-end to 67, also a record, the state Department of Insurance announced.The 26 captives licensed last year compares...

Liberty Northwest Develops Safety Program for Montana Employers

Jan 28 2011 // Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Corp. regional company, has announced an overall retro rating adjustment of nearly 28 percent in workers’ compensation insurance premium adjustments and premium surcharge...

Montana Workers’ Comp Reform Bill on Hold

Jan 25 2011 // A Montana workers’ compensation reform bill was put on hold Jan. 21, 2010, after its sponsor told a state House committee it would have to be heavily amended and suggested going with a “clean” version of...

Montana Bill Would Cut Workers’ Comp to Illegal Aliens

Jan 24 2011 // A Montana lawmaker has proposed reducing the cost of state workers’ compensation insurance by prohibiting illegal immigrant workers from collecting benefits when they are injured. House Bill 71, sponsored by Rep....

Montana Legislature Moves to Ban Illegals From Workers’ Comp

Jan 18 2011 // A legislative plan to ban illegal immigrants from receiving workers’ compensation insurance benefits in Montana cleared its first committee hurdle and now goes to the full state House.Backers of the proposal say it...

Montana Bill Would Cut Workers’ Comp to Illegal Aliens

Jan 11 2011 // A Montana lawmaker has proposed reducing the cost of state workers’ compensation insurance by prohibiting illegal immigrant workers from collecting benefits when they are injured. House Bill 71, sponsored by Rep....

Montana Workers’ Comp Bill Changes Course

Dec 17 2010 // Members of a Montana state panel were told that their bill for workers’ compensation reform was “dead on arrival” in the House and would therefore introduce the package in the Senate in the hopes approval...

Montana Has Highest Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates

Oct 22 2010 // Montana has the highest workers’ compensation premium rates in the nation, at $3.33 per $100 of payroll, followed next by Alaska, which has a rate of $3.10 per $100 of payroll, according to a new study.In the 2010...

Doctors Push Back on Montana Workers’ Comp Overhaul

Sep 14 2010 // Doctors and hospitals upset with the way Montana’s proposed workers’ compensation overhaul would send less money their way believe they can persuade business and labor interests to change a carefully crafted...

Montana Workers’ Comp Overhaul Gets Green Light

Sep 6 2010 // A proposed workers’ compensation overhaul agreed to by business and labor is going to Montana’s full Legislature, despite stiff opposition from trial lawyers and doctors.A legislative committee tasked with...

Montana Workers’ Comp Overhaul Gets Green Light

Aug 23 2010 // A proposed workers’ compensation overhaul hammered out by business and labor is going to Montana’s full Legislature, despite stiff opposition from the equally powerful trial lawyers and doctors groups.A...

Montana Twisters Are More Frequent, Powerful in 2010

Aug 4 2010 // Tornadoes in Montana this year have been more frequent and more powerful than at any point over the past decade, as evidenced by twisters that destroyed an arena in Billings and killed two people in the state’s...

Tornado Touches Down in NE Corner of Montana, Kills 2

Jul 28 2010 // A rare tornado tore through a farmhouse and killed two people inside, leaving nothing but the house’s foundation and a few twisted vehicles as it swept through Montana’s remote and sparsely populated...

Montana Ordinance Requires Insurance for ‘Aggressive’ Dogs

Jul 7 2010 // The White Sulphur Springs, Mont., city council has passed an insurance requirement for the owners of certain breeds of dogs with reputations for aggressive behaviors.The ordinance requires owners of pit bulls, Doberman...

Goldman, Sachs To Pay Montana $75,000 Fine

Jun 29 2010 // Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Monica J. Lindeen has announced a settlement with Goldman, Sachs Inc. Under the agreement, Goldman Sachs has agreed to immediately repurchase from Montana investors the...

Montana State Fund Moves to New Headquarters

Jun 10 2010 // Montana State Fund has moved into a new headquarters at 855 Front Street in Helena. The move is a culmination of five years of planning and building a LEED-certified building. New phone numbers are 406-495-5000. The...

Ratings: United Educators, North Country, Stonebridge, Farmers Union, Park, So. United Fire

May 26 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) of United Educators Insurance, a Vermont-based...

Montana Claims Rule Stands As Supreme Court Declines to Review

May 24 2010 // A Montana insurance rule that makes it more difficult for companies to deny claims will stand, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.“It is immensely important and affects the health insurance rights...

Montana State Fund Decreasing Rates 4%

May 7 2010 // Montana State Fund said its workers’ compensation insurance rates are going down by an average of 4 percent.The fund, which provides the insurance to more than 28,000 employers around the state, says the rate...