Age: 38 more

When the first six states – Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington – were granted conditional approval by the Obama administration on Dec. 10, 2012, to operate their new state-run, health-insurance exchanges, Rhode Island had not yet filed its application. more

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. has been recognized as one of the “10 Agencies That Get It Right” by insurance industry publication Best’s Review magazine. more

Superstorm Sandy was the third destructive storm to hit the East Coast in 14 months. The property destruction and interruption of business operations caused by the storm and the potential for storm-related losses during the winter are reminders of the importance of having insurance and understanding what to do in the event of an insured loss. more

Barnum Financial Group, an office of MetLife, has been named MetLife’s 2012 Firm of the Year. The company, which has five locations in Rhode Island, was also awarded the company’s highest management honor, the 2012 Individual Distribution Firm of the Year, the company announced recently. more

The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. will issue a 4 percent dividend payment to its 11,700 policyholders, the company announced Thursday. more

Our company is still negotiating the annual renewal of our health coverage. According to the insurer’s rate filings, we should probably expect an increase. more

Michael Baduira has been named a retirement plan adviser with Cornerstone Retirement Plan Administrators. more

Kirk Lusk has been named chief financial officer of Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. more

Grant Livingston has been hired as a senior retirement plan adviser at Cornerstone Group, where he will be responsible for helping the firm’s small-business clients manage their retirement plans. more