West Virginia

• Progressive Files Patent Suit Against Hartford, State Farm

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 2, 2012

  Progressive Corp. has filed separate patent-infringement lawsuits against Hartford Financial Services and State Farm over usage-based-auto insurance.

• U.S. East Coast Wildfires Whipped Up by Winds

  By Barbara Goldberg, Reuters  |  April 10, 2012

  Raging wildfires fueled by strong winds scorched thousands of acres in New Jersey and on New York's Long Island on Tuesday as firefighters scrambled aircraft to contain the blazes.

• The Big Reveal of ‘Private’ Social Media Data

  By Kevin M. Blake, Esq.  |  January 27, 2012

  In Pennsylvania an unofficial litmus test is emerging, requiring counsel to have at least an indication that content on a social networking site will contradict a litigant's testimony or claims, before the court will grant access to "private" information on such sites.

• Miss. Judge Throws Out ‘Largest Asbestos Award for a Single Plaintiff’

  By Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press  |  January 4, 2012

  A Mississippi judge has thrown out a $322 million lawsuit verdict that had been hailed as the largest asbestos award for a single plaintiff in U.S. history.

• House Republicans Pressure HHS on MLR Issue

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  December 7, 2011

  House Republicans today sought to put new pressure on the Department of Health and Human Services over the medical loss ratio issue.

• Market Directory: Restaurant and Hospitality Risks

  By Market Directory  |  December 1, 2011

• NAIC Resolution Supports Excluding Agent Commissions from MLR

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  November 23, 2011

  The National Association of Insurance Commissioners late Tuesday approved a resolution asking both the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to act promptly to exempt insurance agents from the medical loss ratio provision of the healthcare reform law.

• IQ: Deer-Vehicle Collisions in U.S. on Steady Decline

  By Industry IQ  |  November 1, 2011

• U.S. Deer Collisions Down; West Virginia Not So Lucky

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  October 26, 2011

  Using its claims data, State Farm has again come up with a report on deer-vehicle collisions and has found that for the third straight year, the overall number of these encounters in the United States has fallen between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

• State's Bad-Faith Reforms Have Reduced Auto Liability Costs By $200M

  By Staff Writer  |  October 11, 2011

  Based on BI claim frequency and severity loss trends, IRC finds that S.B. 418 has drastically reduced auto liability costs since enactment in 2005.