Latest Vermont Headlines

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

Mars Loses Appeal to Undo Dismissal of COVID-19 Business Loss Claims

May 28 2024 // Petcare, food and candy company Mars Inc. has lost its bid to revive its claims against Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for business interruption losses it incurred during the coronavirus pandemic.The Fourth Circuit Court of...

Vermont Updates Its Captive Insurance Law Again

May 23 2024 // Vermont Governor Phil Scott has signed into law legislation updating certain sections of the state’s captive insurance statute including sections governing minimum capital requirements for agency captives and...

Gallagher Updates Regulation for Artificial Intelligence

May 22 2024 // Gallagher’s Cyber practice remains laser focused on emerging technology and the potential for increased risks as organizations begin to use them. Throughout 2024, we’re concentrated on evolving compliance...

Excellent Ratings for Pfizer’s Property Captive in Vermont Are Affirmed

May 10 2024 // AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” (Excellent) of Blue Whale Re Ltd. (Blue Whale) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit...

People Moves: JM Wilson Hires Kemp; Vermont Mutual Promotes Gilbert

May 7 2024 // JM Wilson Hires Kemp as Transportation Renewal UnderwriterJM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, hired Corey Kemp as transportation renewal underwriter. Kemp is responsible for underwriting renewal commercial...

People Moves: McDonnell Succeeds Bridge as President of Vermont Mutual

Apr 22 2024 // The Vermont Mutual board of directors named Mark J. McDonnell president of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group. McDonnell is the 18th president, succeeding former president and current CEO Daniel C. Bridge, who will retire at...

Vermont Farms Still Recovering From Flooding As Growing Season Begins

Apr 19 2024 // Hundreds of Vermont farms are still recovering from last July’s catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather as they head into this year’s growing season.Dog River Farm, in Berlin, Vermont, lost nearly all...

Insurers Norfolk & Dedham of Massachusetts and Union Mutual of Vermont to Affiliate

Apr 11 2024 // Massachusetts-based Norfolk & Dedham (N&D) and Union Mutual in Vermont, property/casualty insurers with a combined 350 years in the business in the Northeast, announced they intend to affiliate, subject to...

Weather and Inflation Have Not Been Kind to Vermont Mutual

Apr 5 2024 // For Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, which has been around since 1828, the past few years have been among the most challenging in its history.“The disruption was not from a single event, but a confluence of disrupters...

States Eye Requiring Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Some Climate Change Damage

Apr 3 2024 // The Vermont Legislature is advancing legislation requiring big fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme...

Vermont Communities Hit by Summer Flooding Seek $3.5M to Elevate 20 Homes

Mar 22 2024 // Two of the Vermont communities hardest hit by last summer’s catastrophic flooding have requested $3.5 million in state funding to elevate 20 homes in Barre and the capital city of Montpelier for flood victims who...

Biden Approves Federal Disaster Aid for Vermont for December Flooding, Severe Storm

Mar 6 2024 // President Joe Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration sought by Gov. Phil Scott to help communities in seven Vermont counties that saw severe rainfall and flooding in December. Federal funding is available on a...

Vermont Seeks Federal Disaster Declaration for December Flooding

Feb 22 2024 // Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has requested a federal major disaster declaration to help communities hit by severe rainfall and flooding in December.Such a declaration would allow municipalities to be reimbursed for 75% of...

Northeast Warned to Expect More Floods Like This Winter’s

Feb 20 2024 // After back-to-back storms lashed the Northeast in January, rental properties Haim Levy owns in coastal Hampton, New Hampshire, were hammered by nearly two feet of water, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in...

Vermont’s Consumer Protection Suit Against Energy Firms Returned to State Court

Feb 15 2024 // The federal district court in Burlington, Vermont recently granted the state attorney general’s motion to return the state’s consumer protection case against Exxon and other fossil fuel producers to state...

Small Farmers Hit by Extreme Weather Would be Helped by New Crop Insurance Program

Jan 30 2024 // Since catastrophic flooding hit Vermont in July and waterlogged crops, some farmers are trying to figure out how to get through the next season.Water washed away seeds planted in the summer at Bear Roots Farm, which grows...

The Hartford to Start Offering Vermont’s Family Leave Insurance Program for Employers

Jan 23 2024 // The Hartford will begin offering the Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program for employers on February 15. Employers with two or more employees will have the opportunity to work withe the insurer’s...

Vermont Continued to See Steady Growth in Captives in 2023

Jan 17 2024 // The Vermont Department of Economic Development reported the state licensed a total of 38 new captive insurance companies in 2023, making it now home to 659 captives.That growth made 2023 one of the best years since Vermont...

Vermont Lawmakers See Flood Recovery, Public Safety, Opioid Crisis as Priorities

Jan 5 2024 // Recovery from the catastrophic flooding that hit Vermont this summer, climate resiliency, improving public safety, tackling opioid addiction, and creating more affordable housing are among the top priorities of the...

Storm in Northeast Take 5 Lives; Causes Power Outages, Floods, Road Damage

Dec 21 2023 // Just days before the Christmas holiday, people across the northeastern U.S. were mopping up Tuesday after a major storm dumped torrential rains and brought damaging winds from Pennsylvania to Maine, as some rivers in the...