Lawmakers in Massachusetts approve rate freeze for the state’s unemployment insurance plans

Massachusetts lawmakers have passed a $130 million spending plan this week. The legislation includes a provision that freezes the unemployment insurance rate that businesses have to pay. This is the fourth consecutive year that lawmakers have put a freeze on the insurance rate, hoping to spare the state’s businesses from costly and, at times, excessive rate increases from insurance companies. Legislators believe that the rate freeze will help stimulate the state’s economy, as businesses will be saving approximately $220 per employee on insurance coverage. The nation’s economy is still showing…

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The importance of understanding what business interruption insurance can provide

According to partner Robert Glasser from the Dempsey Partners L.L.C. New York Office, it is very important for a company to assess its needs for business interruption coverage and to do so carefully. That said, while CFOs and risk managers are typically confident in determining many of the insurance needs of their organizations, they often balk in the face of business interruption because they don’t have a structured approach to provide them with the information they require to make their decision regarding this coverage and its limits. Unfortunately, this discomfort…

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Lawyers gain broadened professional liability coverage from OneBeacon

OneBeacon Insurance Group member, OneBeacon Professional Insurance (OBPI), has launched a broadened lawyers’ professional liability (LPL) coverage so that its protections will now include network security and privacy (NSP) liability. Lawyers can access this new offering in either of two possible ways, which are: 1. As an LPL policy endorsement 2. As its own standalone coverage According to the OBPI senior vice president of the LPL division, Kim Noble, these days, a law firm’s lifeblood is its information systems, and it is vital to protect those systems, as they may…

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New York lawmakers pass new regulation allowing insurers to issue policies without waiting for approval

New York legislators have passed a new insurance regulation that will allow most insurance companies in the state to issue policies without filing rate proposals. The regulation pertains to the commercial market and is meant to give insurers more flexibility in serving commercial clients. Lawmakers hope that the regulation will bring some speed to the commercial insurance process as they fear that the market may be growing somewhat stagnant. The New York State Department of Financial Services believes that the law will be a boon to the economic development of…

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CalCEF introduces new insurance initiative aimed at growing the alternative energy industry

When it comes to alternative energy, insurance is usually the furthest thing from people’s minds. Insurance, however, may hold the key to the future of renewable fuel, according to the California Clean Energy Foundation (CalCEF). CalCEF has long been a proponent of alternative energy, but both consumers and investors have been slow to warm to the concept of sustainability. While the reasons behind sluggish adoption are numerous, the foundation believes that risk may be a major deterrent to investors. This has led the foundation to propose a suite of private…

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