Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Analysis of New EU Data Protection Laws Command the Tide but Not the Cost
Jan 24 2012 // New data-protection proposals from the European Union to help people regain control of personal information from sites like Facebook could prove as effective as commanding the tide, while hurting small firms and Web giants...
Judge Denies BP Request to Penalize Halliburton
Jan 23 2012 // A federal judge in New Orleans shot down BP’s request to penalize Halliburton for allegedly destroying damaging evidence about the quality of its cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well that blew out last...
Florida Supreme Court Rules Guaranty Fund Not Responsible for Legal Fees
Jan 23 2012 // Florida’s high court has ruled that the state fund charged with paying claims from insolvent insurers is not responsible for paying a claimant’s legal fees on a pre-insolvent claim unless they are specifically...
Europe to Issue Tough Rules Protecting Internet Users’ Data
Jan 23 2012 // The European Union will propose tough new rules in the coming days on how corporations handle Internet users’ personal data, a long-awaited move that could have far-reaching implications for Web giants such as Google...
People
Jan 23 2012 // John F. Finston has accepted an appointment to be deputy commissioner for Corporate & Regulatory Affairs at the California Department of Insurance. Finston was the head of SNR Denton’s insurance regulation...
Texas Lawmakers Object
Jan 23 2012 // Some lawmakers in Texas want Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman to withdraw the state’s request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal health insurance reform law. State Rep. Lon...
Judge Allows Suit Alleging GE Misled Investors
Jan 23 2012 // A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit accusing General Electric Co and its chief executive of misleading investors about the conglomerate’s financial health and exposure to risky debt during the 2008...
5 Strategies for P/C Insurers for 2012
Jan 23 2012 // The economic uncertainty that plagues buyers of insurance does not bode well for the property/casualty insurance industry, experts are warning. Ernst & Young, the global tax and business advisory firm, said it expects...
N.J. Court Rules for Allstate in Agency Lawsuits
Jan 23 2012 // Allstate said the Superior Court of New Jersey has entered judgment in favor of Allstate New Jersey Insurance Company, a unit of Allstate Insurance Company, and dismissed claims in the franchise lawsuits filed against...
New Global Risks Create Need for Expanded Directors & Officers Liability Program
Jan 23 2012 // The risk of lawsuits against senior executives has long been a major concern for businesses in the United States. But in the last few years it has become a much more serious global exposure as well. The international legal...
Boston Judge Orders 14 Drug Cos. to Settle Breast Cancer Case
Jan 21 2012 // A federal judge in Boston has ordered 14 drug companies to negotiate settlements for 53 women who claim their breast cancer was caused by an anti-miscarriage drug their mothers took decades ago. Lawyers for the women said...
Senate, House Scuttle Online Piracy Bills
Jan 20 2012 // Senate and House leaders have put their online piracy bills on the back burner after a week of heavy lobbying by technology industry critics of the bills. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best...
Fitch: Bermuda Insurance Market Resilient as Pricing Firms
Jan 20 2012 // Following near-record global catastrophe losses in 2011, Bermuda-domiciled reinsurers are positioned to benefit from an improved underwriting and somewhat better pricing environment this year, according to analysts at...
Financial Stability Tops List of Insurers’ Concerns: Geneva Association
Jan 19 2012 // A newly published study from insurance think tank the Geneva Association analyzes the principle concerns facing the industry in 2012. The current global financial instability tops the list. It’s closely followed by...
What Would Online Piracy Bills SOPA and PIPA Do?
Jan 19 2012 // The House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act have generated fierce opposition within the...
Ship Disaster Unlikely to Prompt Quick Safety Changes
Jan 19 2012 // The cruise ship disaster off Italy’s coast is drawing fresh scrutiny to the gaps in international safety rules and standards – yet there may be little appetite among the world’s major shipping nations and...
U.S. House Panel to Review Cruise Line Safety
Jan 19 2012 // Responding to the still-unfolding disaster of a capsized Italian cruise ship, a U.S. congressional committee launched an investigation on Wednesday of industry safety practices and planned a hearing next month. The House...
Florida’s Citizens Eyes Risk Transfer While Lawmakers Plot Changes
Jan 18 2012 // Florida’s largest homeowners’ insurer has set the goal of moving at least $1 billion in risk back to the private capital markets while looking to lawmakers to make statutory changes that will assist the insurer...
West Virginia Lawmakers’ Personal Tragedies Spur Mine Safety Bill
Jan 18 2012 // For two West Virginia lawmakers who lost fathers in coal mining accidents, preventing disasters like the 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion has taken a personal turn with Monday’s introduction of a bipartisan safety...
Supreme Court Won’t Hear FINRA Immunity Case
Jan 18 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a ruling that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) had immunity from a private lawsuit over the 2007 deal that created the Wall Street regulator. The...
