Latest Virginia Headlines

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

West Virginia to Create Electronic Auto Insurance Verification System

Mar 15 2010 // West Virginia lawmakers want to give police and the courts an easy way to verify whether a driver has required liability insurance.The House has approved a measure previously backed by the Senate to instruct the Division...

West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Insurance Liens for Cities

Mar 15 2010 // Lawmakers have signed off on allowing West Virginia’s cities and towns to tap insurance proceeds when clearing away buildings destroyed by fire.The Senate has sent Gov. Joe Manchin his proposal to allow...

As Weather Warms, Property Owners Urged to Buy Flood Insurance

Mar 12 2010 // Having flood insurance will be increasingly important this year as spring rain combines in many parts of the U.S. with the melting of record snowfall, according to the Insurance Information Institute.“Many states on...

West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Creation of Special Business Courts

Mar 12 2010 // Lawmakers hope a new bill will blunt business groups’ criticism of West Virginia’s court system.The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the state Supreme Court to create special business courts in...

West Virginia Mine Foreman Pleads Guilty to Faking Safety Records

Mar 12 2010 // A foreman accused of faking a safety inspection report at a Patriot Coal Corp. mine pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of making false statements and certifications under federal mine safety laws.John Renner, 40, of...

Profit Plunges at West Virginia’s Brickstreet Mutual

Mar 11 2010 // Competition and the expiration of federal tax exemption cut BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.’s profit by 66 percent in 2009.The workers’ compensation insurer says it earned $38.9 million last year, compared to...

Kinsale Formed as Virginia-Based Specialty Insurer

Mar 10 2010 // Kinsale Capital Group has formed a Virginia-based E&S insurer, called Kinsale Insurance Co., that will underwrite commercial property/casualty and professional liability E&S lines in 31 states and the District of...

West Virginia Lawmakers Tackle Vacant Buildings, Insurance Liens

Mar 9 2010 // State lawmakers appear ready to increase the independence of West Virginia’s local governments, and they aren’t waiting on results from an ongoing experiment on the subject.The Senate is expected to take up a...

Insurance Fraud Reportedly Increasing in Virginia

Feb 26 2010 // The number of suspected insurance fraud notifications received by the Virginia State Police are continuing to increase, according to the Insurance Fraud Program’s 2009 Annual ReportLast year, the Insurance Fraud...

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...

Bills to Raise Virginia Speed Limits Pass

Feb 4 2010 // Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that would boost the top speed limit in the state from 65 mph to 70.In the Senate, the bill passed on a 29-10 vote. Democratic Senator Creigh (Cree) Deeds of Bath County said the state...

Chemical Leaks at West Virginia DuPont Plant Appear Unrelated

Feb 1 2010 // Three recent chemical leaks at a West Virginia DuPont plant, one of which killed a worker, don’t appear to be related, a federal investigator said.U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigator Johnnie Banks promised a...

Mandatory Seat Belt Bills Clear Virginia Senate

Jan 29 2010 // The Virginia Senate has passed a bill to allow police to pull over and ticket drivers for not wearing a seat belt.The bill passed 24-16 Wednesday and heads to the House, where similar efforts have died in past years....

West Virginia DuPont Worker Dies After Chemical Exposure

Jan 27 2010 // Federal safety officials are investigating a DuPont chemical plant Monday after a series of leaks that resulted in the death of one worker and the operation’s temporary shutdown.DuPont officials put the sprawling...

Business Moves

Jan 24 2010 // Towers Perrin, Watson WyattTowers Watson & Co. has completed the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt. The transaction to form Towers Watson, a global professional services company, was announced on June 28, 2009....

West Virginians Producing Film on Dangers of Texting While Driving

Jan 22 2010 // Several young adults from West Virginia are starring in a new educational film on the dangers of distracted driving that is to be released this spring.Charleston, West Virginia-based MotionMasters is producing the film,...

West Virginia Eyes Lien on Fire Insurance to Fight Abandoned Buildings

Jan 21 2010 // West Virginia may be on the path to helping municipalities pay for debris removal of abandoned buildings with insurance payments in a way that insurers can live with.The issue of how to pay for the cleanup has irked...

Virginia County Wants Insurers to Pay for Ambulance Services

Jan 21 2010 // The Board of County Supervisors in Prince William County, Virginia is considering raising the cost of an ambulance trip. The board on Tuesday moved forward with a plan to have insurance companies pay between $400 and $700...

West Virginia Seeking to Restore Confidence In State Supreme Court

Jan 20 2010 // Gov. Joe Manchin and the state Supreme Court hope to shore up public confidence in a West Virginia judicial system that has been scrutinized by the nation’s highest court and branded a “hellhole” by the...

West Virginia Workers Compensation Insurer BrickStreet Approved in Illinois

Jan 15 2010 // West Virginia-based BrickStreet Mutual Insurance said it has been approved to begin writing workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois. The move continues an expansion drive for the company, which was approved to...