Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Feds Would Set Florida Health Insurance Rates Under Senate Bill
Mar 21 2013 // A state Senate health committee recommended this week that the state suspend the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s power to set rates for insurers under the Affordable Care Act and instead let the federal...
Missouri Judge Blocks Public Records Request in Insurance Fraud Case
Mar 20 2013 // A judge has issued an order blocking a newspaper’s request for documents about the resignation of the police chief in southeast Missouri. Perryville Police Chief Keith Tarrillion submitted his resignation last week...
Regulations Proposed in Texas for Lawsuit Financing
Mar 20 2013 // Texas lawmakers are seeking to rein in lenders who finance lawsuits. Under a bill considered in the Texas House Committee on the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, the lenders would have to abide by regulations that...
Threats Posted on Facebook Are Crimes, Florida Court Rules
Mar 20 2013 // In an apparent first in Florida law, a state appeals court ruled this week that posting threats on one’s personal Facebook page can be prosecuted under state law. The 1st District Court of Appeal decided in a...
Michigan Office for Financial, Insurance Regulation Becomes Department
Mar 19 2013 // Michigan’s office dealing with financial and insurance regulation has been elevated to department status. The Department of Insurance and Financial Services aims to provide greater focus on the tasks currently being...
Judge Overturns Missouri Law on Birth Control Coverage
Mar 19 2013 // A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barrack Obama’s health care law. The...
Is This Right Time to Restructure Florida CAT Fund?
Mar 19 2013 // A move to restructure Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility by lowering its financial obligation to insurers is facing an uphill legislative battle as both lawmakers and members of the industry find...
With Rates Expected to Drop, Cat Fund Reform Should Be a No-Brainer
Mar 18 2013 // For four out of the last seven years, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been projected to have a shortfall should a major hurricane impact the state and cause the fund to pay out to its coverage limits. This is...
South Dakota Ranks 12th in Nation for Personal Income
Mar 18 2013 // South Dakota’s growth in personal income from 2000 to 2011 surpassed the growth rate for both the region and the nation, the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation announced. South Dakota’s personal...
Report Makes Chilling Forecast On Northwest Quake
Mar 18 2013 // More than 10,000 people could die when – not if – a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, researchers told Oregon legislators . Coastal towns would be inundated. Schools, buildings...
Research Panel Recommends Steps to Help Mine Workers Escape in Emergencies
Mar 18 2013 // Federal regulators and safety officials should consider requiring more backup air supplies and work to develop better breathing devices that would help the nation’s coal miners escape underground emergencies, a panel...
California Judge Overturns Verdict to ‘Price Is Right’ Model
Mar 15 2013 // A judge has overturned an $8.5 million verdict awarded to a former “Price is Right” model in a pregnancy discrimination case and ruled a new trial is necessary. Judge Kevin Brazile ruled Tuesday that he...
South Carolina Judge Throws Out DUI Over Police ‘Blow Hard’ Order
Mar 15 2013 // A defense lawyer says a ruling by a Columbia city judge could affect driving under the influence cases across South Carolina. The judge threw out breath test results because the police officer told the suspect to blow hard...
Texas Lawmaker Scolds Insurance Industry over Coastal Coverage
Mar 14 2013 // A state senator in Texas is taking the insurance industry to task for what he perceives as its disinterest in coming up with new approaches to solving coastal windstorm insurance issues. In a Senate committee meeting on...
Florida Lawmakers Confront Cost of Improving School Safety
Mar 14 2013 // The mass school shooting in Connecticut led officials to question if more should be done to beef up security in Florida’s public classrooms. Three months later, lawmakers are still grappling with how to respond,...
CEOs Urge Federal Government to Go ‘Light’ on Cyber Security
Mar 14 2013 // Corporate leaders from the defense, technology, energy and banking industries told President Barack Obama on Wednesday they agreed cyber attacks were a top security threat but that they were looking for a “light...
Finaccord Reports on Bancassurance in Global Markets
Mar 14 2013 // A new report from UK based market research, publishing and consulting firm Finaccord notes that “emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America offer the most growth potential for bancassurers but the...
Directors and Officers Liability Market Firming: Towers Watson
Mar 14 2013 // The directors and officers liability market continued to see price increases in 2012, with more private/not-for-profit organizations reporting rate increases than public organizations but, according to a new industry...
West Virginia Debates Property Insurance Nonrenewal Rules
Mar 13 2013 // In West Virginia and most other states, an insurer can choose not to renew people’s property insurance policy if a claim is filed over weather damage. A West Virginia Senate bill that would ban that practice was...
Florida Senate Bill Would Depopulate Citizens, Raise Rates, Create Clearinghouse
Mar 13 2013 // Lawmakers in the Florida Senate have taken steps to return the state-backed insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to its original purpose of being a market of last resort by requiring it to charge actuarially sound...
