Latest Wisconsin Headlines

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

Outlook Negative for Wisconsin’s Partners Mutual Insurance

May 6 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Partners Mutual Insurance Company (Partners) of...

Wisconsin to Intensify Brake Inspections on Commercial Trucks

May 5 2010 // The Wisconsin State Patrol is increasing air brake inspections on large trucks as part of an annual, national safety effort.The goal of Operation Air Brake, which begins May 5, is to reduce large truck crashes and make...

Wisconsin’s Rural Mutual Insurance Co. Ratings Upgraded

Apr 30 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating to “a” from “a-” of Rural Mutual Insurance Company (Rural Mutual) in Madison,...

Western National Insurance Affiliates with Wisconsin American

Apr 30 2010 // Western National Insurance Group of Edina, Minn., recently announced plans to affiliate with Wisconsin American Mutual Insurance Co. of Fond du Lac, Wis. The transaction is expected to close before fall 2010.It is...

Ex-Insurance Executive Sentenced in Wisconsin for Kickback Scheme

Apr 5 2010 // A judge in Wisconsin has sentenced a former insurance executive to prison for bilking his firm out of more than $1 million in phony claims. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb sentenced Douglas Nickerson to three years and...

Wisconsin College Aims to Make Insurance Students ‘Real World Smart’

Apr 5 2010 // Insurance? That’s all straight commission sales,” responded a student at Madison Area Technical College when his instructor suggested he consider an insurance class. Madison College, in Madison, Wis., is...

Audit: Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Fund in Poor Shape

Apr 1 2010 // A fund that helps Wisconsin health care providers pay medical malpractice claims is in poor financial shape after lawmakers raided $200 million to balance the budget, auditors have warned.The Injured Patients and Families...

United Heartland Names Bartelme Director of Loss Control

Mar 30 2010 // Workers’ compensation insurer, United Heartland, in New Berlin, Wis., has appointed Rick Bartelme as director of Loss Control.Bartelme is responsible for implementing United Heartland’s comprehensive approach...

Ex-Insurance Executive Sentenced in Wisconsin for Kickback Scheme

Mar 29 2010 // A judge in Wisconsin has sentenced a former insurance executive to prison time for bilking his company out of more than $1 million in phony claims.U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb told Douglas Nickerson she was glad he...

Wisconsin-based Capitol Insurance Reports Strong 2009 Results

Mar 26 2010 // Capitol Insurance Companies (Capitol), a Middleton, Wis.-based national provider of specialty property-casualty insurance and commercial surety products, reported a strong year of underwriting profitability for the year...

Wisconsin Regulator Seizes Some of Bond Insurer Ambac’s Assets

Mar 25 2010 // State regulators are taking control of some of U.S. bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc.’s worst assets, the company said Thursday, in an action affecting some $35 billion of assets.Regulators in Wisconsin, where...

It Figures

Mar 22 2010 // 4.6%Nebraska’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in January, still less than half the national rate of 9.7 percent, according to state officials. The preliminary December rate of 4.7 percent...

New Vehicle Registrations in Wisconsin Down 46% Since 2000

Mar 4 2010 // New vehicle registrations in Wisconsin are nearly half of what they were in 2000.Registrations dropped 46 percent — a hit that’s felt well beyond the state’s auto dealerships. Thousands of jobs have...

Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp Plans Expansion Into Wisconsin

Feb 12 2010 // Property/casualty insurer Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp, Inc. said it expects to report record results for the fourth quarter and confirmed it pans to expand into neighboring Wisconsin.The company said it expects to report...

A.M. Best Assigns Wisconsin’s Ellington Mutual Insurance a ‘B+’ Rating

Jan 28 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb-” to Ellington Mutual Insurance Company (Ellington) of Hortonville, Wis. The outlook assigned to both...

Wisconsin Senate OKs Bill That Expands Malpractice Claims

Jan 21 2010 // The Wisconsin Senate has approved a bill that would allow for more medical malpractice claims against health care providers. The approved bill allows parents to sue for pain and suffering damages if their adult-aged...

Liberty Mutual Expands Insurance Offerings for Wisconsin Schools

Jan 20 2010 // Liberty Mutual Group is expanding its program offerings for Wisconsin schools available through its partnership with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) Insurance Plan.Effective immediately, the WASB...

Wisconsin Teen Drivers Buckling Up More Than They Used To

Dec 29 2009 // Wisconsin teenagers are buckling up more than they used to.A new survey of the state’s high school students shows that only 15 percent say they rarely or never wear a seat belt when in a car driven by another person....

Report: Univ. of Wisconsin Camps Should Carry Accident Insurance

Dec 10 2009 // Auditors are making several recommendations to limit legal liability and improve the safety of children who attend sports, music and other camps on University of Wisconsin campuses. An audit report to be presented to the...

Wisconsin Technical College Creates Insurance Education Program

Nov 23 2009 // Madison, Wis., Area Technical College has launched an Insurance Certificate Program to respond the needs of the growing insurance industry in that state.Wisconsin has the 6th largest concentration of insurers in the nation...