Latest Washington Headlines

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

Wash. Study on Insurer Use of Credit Should be Used Cautiously

Feb 13 2003 // A recent study by the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) about insurer use of credit history adds some interesting new pro-competitive angles to the public policy debate, according to American...

Wash. L&I Cracks Down on Unregistered Residential Wood Framers

Feb 12 2003 // Inspectors from the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) will be out in force in Pierce, Jefferson, Kitsap and Clallam counties this month, making sure residential wood framers are working safely and are...

Washington Physicians Urge Legislators for Medical Liability Reform

Feb 4 2003 // Nearly 300 physicians from across Washington state met in Olympia to urge legislators to pass medical liability reform recently.Washington physicians, reeling from rapidly increasing medical malpractice premiums, are...

Eric W. Neely Named President of Mt Washington Assurance Corp.

Feb 4 2003 // Eric W. Neely has been named president of Mt Washington Assurance Corporation, a member of the Plymouth Rock Companies, headquartered in Concord, NH. The company sells auto and homeowner insurance in New Hampshire through...

AIA Responds to Wash. Credit Scoring Report

Jan 28 2003 // American Insurance Association (AIA) vice president and assistant general counsel David Snyder responded to the release of effect of credit scoring on auto insurance underwriting and pricing, a study by the Washington...

Wash. Workplace Injuries Down in 2001

Jan 27 2003 // Washington’s job sites were safer in 2001, continuing a trend that began nearly a decade ago, according to survey results released by the Department of Labor and Industries.The survey showed that 7.6 out of every 100...

PIA Fed. Legislative Summit Set for Washington, D.C.

Jan 20 2003 // Members of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) are set to converge on the nation’s capital on Thursday, April 3, for their annual Federal Legislative Summit.The 2003 PIA Federal...

IIABA’s 27th Annual National Legislative Conf. Set for Washington, D.C.

Jan 3 2003 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s (IIABA’s) 27th Annual National Legislative Conference will be held April 2-4 at The Capital Hilton in downtown Washington, D.C.The event will bring...

Wash. L&I Names Illinois Ins. Veteran to Head WC System

Dec 3 2002 // Robert Malooly, a 30-year veteran of the insurance industry, has been selected to run Washington State’s industrial insurance system. Malooly, 54, who rose from claims adjudicator to chairman and CEO of the...

Wash. L&I Adopts 29 Percent Rate Icrease

Nov 28 2002 // The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has adopted a 29 percent rate increase for 2003. It is the agency’s first general rate increase in eight years.On Jan. 1, the average rate will rise from...

Washington Casualty Co. Ratings Lowered to ‘Bpi’ from ‘BBBpi’

Nov 5 2002 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Washington Casualty Co. to single-‘Bpi’ from triple-‘Bpi’ because of the...

Wash. L&I and Labor Ready Reach Accord

Oct 15 2002 // The Washington Department of Labor and Industries and Tacoma-based Labor Ready have settled their dispute over the amount of money the temporary help firm owed the state in workers’ compensation premiums dating back...

Wash. L&I to Hold Public Hearings on Proposed 2003 WC Rate Increase

Oct 3 2002 // The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has scheduled seven public hearings to take testimony on a proposed 40.5 percent increase in workers’ compensation premiums in 2003.The hearings give...

Wash. L&I Announces 40.5 Percent Boost in WC Rates in 2003

Sep 12 2002 // The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has proposed increasing industrial insurance premiums by 40.5 percent in 2003. It is the agency’s first general rate increase in eight years.If adopted, the proposal...

Wash. Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Aug 19 2002 // A Grays Harbor County, Wash. man has pled guilty to a felony charge of first- degree theft and for fraudulently receiving workers’ compensation benefits. Sherwin D. Phillips, 31, was allegedly receiving...

Wash. Begins Adopting Credit-Scoring Regulation

Aug 15 2002 // Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has begun the process of adopting a regulation to implement the new law restricting insurers’ use of credit-based insurance scores. He hopes to adopt a final rule...

Wash. Workers’ Comp Benefits Increase 0.9 Percent with Cost of Living

Jun 21 2002 // Workers currently receiving Washington workers’ compensation time-loss or pension benefits will receive less than a 1 percent cost-of-living increase on July 1, 2002.The new maximum monthly benefit will be $3,722.90...

Seminars Slated for Calif., Wash.

Jun 17 2002 // Insurance Skills Center recently filed a new seminar on “Terrorism and Insurance” with the Departments of Insurance in Calif., Nevada, Oregon, and Washington for 4 CE credits. The class will look at issues...

Wash. LnI Refunds $78 Million in Workers’ Comp Premiums

May 27 2002 // The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is returning more than $78 million in workers’ compensation premiums to Washington employers and associations enrolled in retrospective rating plans.29 professional...

Alaska Committees Consider Two Very Different Scoring Bills

Apr 24 2002 // Two very different bills restricting insurers’ use of credit-based insurance scores are pending in Alaska House and Senate committees with no clear indication as to which is more likely to move.National Association...