A federal judge in Philadelphia has rejected an effort by Nationwide Insurance agents to challenge the insurer’s new contract, which they say is unfair.

The Internal Revenue Service said it will allow businesses that improperly labeled their employees as independent contractors a chance to reclassify those workers.

A collection of Allstate Insurance agents, facing a possible compensation cuts of 20%, voted overwhelmingly to form a union.

Many Allstate Insurance agents will soon vote on whether to become a guild of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).

An association of 54 insurance agents is suing a Columbus, Ohio-based insurance company for allegedly forcing them to submit to changes in the insurer-agent relationship that exert more control over them.

An insurance industry trade group representing agents in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania has expanded a tool to help its members better protect their books of business and agency value.

Gov. David A. Paterson signed into law a measure allowing state insurance regulators to approve allowing health insurers to issue group health insurance policies to cover temporary, part-time, freelance and self-employed workers.

The Allstate Insurance Co. has agreed to pay 90 former employees about $4.5 million to settle an age discrimination suit filed after the insurer tried to convert its workforce form employees to independent contractors in 1999.