Nationwide Insurance

ELDERSBURG -- Chugging a beer while sitting in a hearse gave Steve Speck an eerie feeling.The Liberty High junior and three classmates were making a "commercial" for a video, produced as part of the Prom Promise campaign. The promise is a pledge by students to celebrate the prom without alcohol and drugs.The expressions on the faces of actors turned quickly from silly smiles to sobered stares, as an announcer said, "If you are going to drink and drive, make your reservations early."They stopped their socializing, put down their beer cans and looked around, realizing they were in the curtained black vehicle.

Annapolis business leaders and the Police Department have formed an unprecedented partnership to boost services at a time when the department has fallen behind on equipment and training.The Greater Annapolis Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday that it will act as a clearinghouse to accept business donations of equipment, services and training resources for the police.During tough economic times "the business community is going to have to do more to support services expected in a community," said Penny Chandler, chamber executive director.

State Farm Insurance Co., the state's leading insurer of homes, is hitting its 450,000 Maryland homeowners with annual premium increases averaging almost 8 percent statewide.The company's rate rise translates to an average of about $24 per home, but varies by area and other factors.State Farm's increase follows a recent move by the state's second-leading home insurance company, Allstate Insurance Co., with about 175,000 homeowner policies, to raise its yearly premiums by an average of about 17 percent statewide, or about $51 per home.

There are surely hundreds, even thousands, of people who live in Annapolis, yet seldom have occasion to drive downtown.For those who may want to park and do some errands on their semiannual cruise through town, a warning: Last Thursday, parking meters went from $1 for two hours to $1 for one hour. The meters take only quarters, and the fine for an expired meter rose from $10 to $20.Should your visit include plans for dinner, note that the meters must now be fed from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (instead of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Insurance industry officials said yesterday they are confident that if the General Assembly follows the advice of a gubernatorial task force, Baltimore drivers soon will be paying substantially less for car insurance.Among the recommendations of the 17-member commission: Reduce certain types of mandatory coverage, ban the so-called "runners" who try to hook up accident victims with lawyers, prohibit lawyers from mailing solicitations to accident victims for 30 days after a crash, and deny victims multiple recoveries for the same injury.

BATON ROUGE, La. - If David and Julie Bolyard were waiting for a sign, it came two Sundays ago. A StormTracker team from the Weather Channel showed up outside their house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. They knew it was time to go. They loaded up their white Chevy pickup and headed for Baton Rouge. "You have to keep a good attitude," David Bolyard, a 46- year-old sailmaker, remembers telling his neighbors, "because in three days everything else will be gone." And so the Bolyards, clad in flip-flops and white T-shirts, stood under a tent in a Home Depot parking lot yesterday afternoon, waiting to speak with an Allstate Insurance adjuster.

Maryland's top insurance regulator invited a hand-picked gathering of industry leaders yesterday to play an active role in streamlining laws that govern their business. "We want to reduce the cost and the burden of being regulated," state Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr. told a small group of insurance representatives who met with him at a downtown Baltimore law firm that specializes in insurance clients. The meeting had been criticized by some lawmakers and groups worried about the appearance of a close relationship between Maryland's insurance chief and the companies he oversees.

Prom Promise effort may curb drug, alcohol use among youthGlenelg High School and Nationwide Insurance Agent Paul E. McMahon Jr. of Glenelg have initiated the 1993 Prom Promise Program, which encourages teen-agers to sign a pledge not to use alcohol or drugs prom night -- whether or not they attend the event.Prom Promise is endorsed by the National Association of State Board of Education, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving and the American Association of School Administration.Information: 442-1600.

Nationwide Financial Services Shares climbed $9.79 to close at $47.72. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., with a 66.3 percent stake in the company, bid to buy the rest for $2.2 billion in cash, or $47.20 a share.

Petrilli appointed sales managerMaster Power Inc. of Westminster, a manufacturer of pneumatic tools, has appointed Perry Petrilli as national sales manager.Mr. Petrilli, who has a bachelor's degree from Cleveland State University, will be responsible for sales management of Master Power's line of products.He resides in Fallston with his wife and two children.Schilling awarded LUTC designationRobert F. Schilling, Nationwide Insurance agent in Taneytown, was recently awarded the Life Underwriting Training Council designation at the National Association of Life Underwriters convention in Atlanta.