Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hawaii Lawmakers Pass 3 Cybercrime Measures
May 3 2012 // Hawaii lawmakers have approved a trio of bills aimed at preventing cybercrimes. The bills passed Tuesday offer law enforcement and prosecutors more tools to charge and penalize those who use computers to commit crimes. One...
Missouri Governor Signals Compromise On Workers’ Comp
May 3 2012 // About six weeks after he vetoed legislation that would have changed the state’s workers’ compensation system, Missouri’s Democratic governor is signaling that he would be open to compromise with...
Another Insurance Attorney From Dewey & LeBoeuf Departs Firm
May 3 2012 // A number of insurance attorneys from N.Y.-headquartered elite law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf have left the company this year, as the firm, well-known for its insurance work, grapples with high debt and partner compensation...
Willis Re Reports on Mutual Insurers’ Diversification Challenges, Opportunities
May 3 2012 // Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings, has released a report discussing the challenges and opportunities offered to mutual insurers through diversification, subtitled “Navigating the Pitfalls in...
New Law Increases Drunk Driving Penalty in Oklahoma
May 3 2012 // Under legislation recently signed into law in Oklahoma, a drunk driver who caused an accident resulting in great bodily harm could face a maximum of 10 years in prison. House Bill 2568, by state Rep. Harold Wright,...
N.J. Examines Stop-Loss Insurance for Self-Insured Small Businesses
May 2 2012 // A growing number of small businesses in New Jersey are self-funding or self-insuring their employees’ healthcare costs, and they are opting out of paying fixed premiums for traditional health insurance plans like...
New York Proposes New Rule to Crack Down on No-Fault Insurance Fraud
May 2 2012 // New York State regulators are expanding their effort to stop no-fault auto insurance fraud. The New York Department of Financial Services announced on Tuesday a new draft regulation, Regulation 68, that would make it...
Mississippi Lawmakers Pass Workers’ Compensation Changes Backed by Employers
May 2 2012 // Mississippi legislators offered sharply different views of a bill they passed Monday to change the way compensation is awarded to workers injured on the job, or to survivors of those killed at work. If Republican Gov. Phil...
Judge Rejects Strauss-Kahn Immunity in Civil Damages Lawsuit
May 2 2012 // A New York judge rejected former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s claim of diplomatic immunity on Tuesday, ruling a lawsuit filed by the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault can move...
Geneva Association Reminds Federal Reserve Insurers Aren’t Banks
May 2 2012 // The Swiss-based insurance think tank Geneva Association has followed up on its recent report as to whether or not some insurers should be considered as G-SIFI’s (globally systemic important financial...
Oklahoma Governor Signs Firefighter Training Incentive Legislation
May 2 2012 // Legislation signed into law by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin will improve on a current training incentive for firefighters, according to the bill’s author. House Bill 1835 “changes the firefighter training...
Mass. Health Insurance Base Rate Up 1.2% on Average for Third Quarter
May 1 2012 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) said this week that it is placing on file small-group health insurance base rates for the 2012 third quarter, with an average increase of just 1.2 percent. Fueled by base rate...
Oklahoma House Again Passes Severe Weather Liability Bill
May 1 2012 // Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives would eliminate liability for any entity or person providing access to a safe place during instances of severe weather, as long as they were acting in good...
Alabama Lawmakers Pass Tax-Free Weekend for Disaster Supplies
May 1 2012 // As Alabama prepares to observe the first anniversary of deadly tornadoes last April 27, the Legislature approved the creation of a tax-free weekend for buying disaster preparedness supplies. The bill by Republican Rep....
Bill Aims to Fix Problems with Medicare Set-Asides for Workers’ Compensation
May 1 2012 // The insurance industry is among the business and legal interests applauding legislation to resolve delays and inconsistencies in Medicare’s approval process for set-aside funds for injured workers’...
Judge: Montana City Must Pay $3M Judgment To Insurance Company In Lawsuit
Apr 30 2012 // A state judge has ruled the city of Bozeman in Montana must repay its insurance company the $3 million it paid after the city lost a lawsuit filed by a developer. Developer Mike Delaney sued the city in 2003 alleging the...
Regulation, Reputational Risk Top Concerns of Risk Managers: Lloyd’s
Apr 30 2012 // A heightened focus on insurance regulation as well as exposures related to reputational risk are top concerns for insurance executives today, reports a new survey. Nearly a third of executives responding to a survey...
Missouri House Passes Whistleblower, Work Comp Bills
Apr 30 2012 // The Missouri House passed two pieces of business legislation aimed at overcoming vetoes by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon earlier this year. Both measures now go to the Senate, which approved similar measures earlier in the...
Alabama Lawmakers Pass Ban on Texting While Driving
Apr 30 2012 // State lawmakers have voted unanimously to make Alabama the 38th state to ban texting while driving. A compromise version of the bill by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville cleared the House 95-0 and the Senate...
Victims of Cyberbullying Fighting Back in Libel Suits
Apr 30 2012 // When a Georgia middle school student reported to police and school officials that she had been bullied on Facebook, they told her there was not much they could do because the harassment occurred off campus. So the...
