Insurance Administration to Take Questions from Baltimore Co. Residents

The regulator will hold four events in the county in March.

Maryland Insurance Administration staffers will be out in Baltimore County at four events in March to answer insurance questions from residents. The four sessions, in Randallstown, Phoenix and Essex are aimed at better educating consumers, the agency's commissioner said in a news release. “A key aspect of the Maryland Insurance Administration’s mission involves educating the citizens of our state about the choices available to them as consumers of insurance products,” Therese M. Goldsmith, Maryland Insurnace Commissioner, said in the release.  “The more informed consumers are, the better equipped they are to make purchasing decisions that are right for them.” Here are the four events scheduled next month in Baltimore County: Educational …

Winter's First Hypothermia Death; MD Officials Urge Caution

State officials released tips for avoiding cold-related illnesses, following a hypothermia-related death in Frederick County earlier this month.

State health officials on Thursday confirmed Maryland's first hypothermia-related death of the winter, and took the opportunity to remind residents how to protect themselves. State officials said the death of a Frederick County man aged 65 or older was confirmed sometime between Dec. 18 and 24. The release said no further information on the man would be released for privacy reasons. By this time in 2011, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the Thursday release from state officials, Maryland had recorded one hypothermia-related death, and 15 for all of last winter. Though hypothermia is commonly associated with cold weather, it actually occurs when the body's temperature drops below 95 degrees. Frostbite occurs when …

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Animal Abuse Registry Bill ‘Dead’ in Maryland

The bill was proposed amid reports of animal abuse in Maryland.

A bill that would have placed an animal abuser’s photo and address on a registry for 10 years did not survive during this session of the Maryland General Assembly, according to a national lobbying group for pet stores. The House Judiciary Committee voted against House Bill 1020 bill on March 20 and the companion Senate bill failed to advance from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which was lobbying against passage of the bill. The council posted an update about the bill on its Facebook page Thursday. Maryland State Sen. Ronald Young proposed the Senate bill that would have created a statewide animal abuse registry as a means of preventing convicted abusers from acquiring …

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