Drive to competition; Commissioner would loosen regulatory straitjacket.
COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION If state Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes has her way, Massachusetts drivers soon will be able to shop for the best auto insurance deal for the first time in 30 years. Since 1977, the insurance commissioner has set rates all companies...

The insurance countdown; As deadline nears for state residents, some wonder how many will be left behind.
Byline: Lisa Eckelbecker WORCESTER - When it came time to figure out whether the 70-odd workers at the Beechwood Hotel, many of them part-timers, were complying with the new state law requiring all residents to have health insurance, the boutique hotel's controller sat down with each worker....

The Backup files; A look back at the week in business.
Byline: Martin Luttrell COLUMN: THE BACKUP FILES Just in time for the holidays The Internal Revenue Service may be looking for you. Now, before you barricade yourself inside your home, it's OK. If you're one of 275 or so Worcester County residents the...

Business briefs.
COLUMN: BUSINESS BRIEFS TELEGRAM & GAZETTE Bloomberg Index Central Massachusetts +0.79 196.62 Volume: 15,175,839 Up: 13 Down: 10 Unchanged: 6 Gainer: Evergreen Solar Inc. $16.55 +$.89 (volume...

Protection of military personnel from false, misleading, or deceptive insurance practices.
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Financial and Professional regulation has issued new regulations affecting what methods and practices insurance companies can employ when they sell or attempt to sell life insurance to military personnel. 50 Ill Adm Code 2605....

AG, auto insurers clash over rates; Coakley calls for hearings on Hanover, Arbella.
Byline: Bob Kievra In a sign that the road to managed competition has grown bumpy for the state's auto insurers, an industry trade group lashed out at Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday, the same day her office said the Hanover Insurance Group Inc. of Worcester and Arbella...

Worcester drivers pay high rates.
Byline: Elaine Thompson For higher education, medical facilities and night life, Worcester is the place to be in Central Massachusetts. But when it comes to auto insurance rates, the city can't compare with places like Sturbridge, Holden and Westboro. The average premium for standard coverage...

Crash crew; Pols try to scuttle auto insurance reform.
COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION Massachusetts is about to take a long-overdue step in the direction of the kind of market-driven auto-insurance system that prevails in every other state. The Patrick administration and legislative leaders who championed the reforms should fiercely oppose the last-ditch effort to undermine them....

The Backup files; A look back at the week in business.
Byline: Making a U-turn Thirty years ago Burt Reynolds and Sally Field Making a U-turn Thirty years ago Burt Reynolds and Sally Field criss-crossed the South in "Smokey and the Bandit," fleeing from Jackie Gleason as they ushered a tractor-trailer full of beer across county...

Critics of deregulation fear auto insurers will skirt rules.
Byline: John J. Monahan BOSTON - Critics of a new state plan to partially deregulate the auto insurance industry yesterday told lawmakers that insurance companies would find ways around proposed prohibitions on setting rates based on wealth, occupation, education, gender or homeownership. State Insurance Commissioner...