Number of catastrophe-related laws enacted rose significantly in 2006

March 12, 2007

Enacted catastrophe-related laws increased dramatically in the states last year, according to the annual survey of state insurance laws prepared by an insurance group.

“Ten states enacted 17 catastrophe-related bills last year as compared to three states in 2005,” said David Reddick, associate director of public policy, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). “Five bills were enacted in Louisiana following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita while Florida and Hawaii each passed resolutions calling for creation of a national catastrophe fund.”

This year, state lawmakers already appear on pace to equal or exceed last year’s total, Reddick added.

While catastrophe-related bills increased, the total number of property and casualty-related bills actually decreased last year. The NAMIC survey found that 44 states and District of Columbia collectively enacted 539 bills as compared to 625 property/casualty insurance laws in 2005.

Motor vehicle insurance bills represented the largest single category of bills in the 2006 survey with 169 bills. Traffic offenses were the largest sub-category with 42 bills.

Workers’ compensation was the second largest bill category with 82 bills enacted. The largest number of those bills – 21 – related to benefits, claims and authorized treatments.

Identity theft legislation was the third with 22 states and the District of Columbia enacting a combined 36 bills.

A copy of the annual survey is available at www.namic.org.

Topics Catastrophe

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