Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Michigan Republicans to Continue Economic Focus
Dec 19 2011 // Republicans in firm control of the state Legislature say they’re setting the stage for an economic turnaround in Michigan after passing sweeping tax and policy changes over the past year. Business tax cuts that will...
Moody’s Corp. Acquires Barrie & Hibbert
Dec 19 2011 // Moody’s Corp. has acquired Barrie & Hibbert Limited, a provider of risk management modeling tools for insurance companies worldwide. The acquisition broadens Moody’s Analytics suite of software solutions...
Illinois Judge Pulled from Asbestos Cases Will Return $30K in Donations
Dec 16 2011 // A judge who was assigned to hear all of the asbestos cases in her southwestern Illinois county was stripped of those cases after it was revealed her campaign committee received $30,000 in contributions from area law firms...
Governor OKs Bill to End Some Michigan Drivers’ Fees
Dec 16 2011 // Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation that will eliminate some extra fees that are imposed on drivers for certain traffic offenses. Senate Bill 166 repeals pieces of the state’s “driver...
U.S. Healthcare Law Keeps More Young Adults Insured
Dec 16 2011 // U.S. healthcare reforms have enabled 2.5 million young adults to join or remain in their parents’ health insurance plans, the U.S. government said this week, up from 1 million reported earlier this year. Federal...
Foreign Insurers Losing Out in China
Dec 16 2011 // Ten years ago, foreign insurers were lining up to celebrate China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, eager to tap what was certain to become the world’s next big insurance frontier. A decade on, it is...
RIMS Tells Treasury: Industry Needs More Uniform, National Regulations
Dec 15 2011 // A major group for risk management professionals sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department, asking for a bigger federal role in regulating insurance. The Risk and Insurance Management Society sent its letter to Michael...
Florida Regulators Allow Bermuda Reinsurer to Operate with Reduced Capital
Dec 15 2011 // Florida has added one more name to the growing list of offshore reinsurers who can do business in the state under a new law allowing them to reduce their capital and collateral requirements. The Florida Office of Insurance...
Michigan Workers’ Comp Changes Head to Governor
Dec 15 2011 // A bill that could help Michigan employers reduce costs related to compensating workers injured on the job is on the way to Gov. Rick Snyder after getting final approval in the state Legislature. The bill was approved 60-47...
Scientists Urge New Approach to Offshore Drilling Safety
Dec 15 2011 // U.S. offshore oil and gas drillers need to take a more systematic approach to safety in all aspects of their operations to prevent another catastrophe like last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a scientific...
Liquidation of Minnesota-Based Insurance and Trust Company Underway
Dec 14 2011 // Minnesota is in the process of liquidating an Austin, Minn.-based insurance and trust company that regulators say has a long history of financial problems, administrative incompetence, coercive and dishonest business...
Drug Tampering Cases Show Gaps in Nurse Regulation in Kansas
Dec 14 2011 // A nurse with a prior felony conviction for forging prescriptions dilutes morphine solutions for five Halstead, Kan., nursing home patients. Another nurse convicted of stealing drugs from patients at an Emporia home gets...
Judge Tosses JPMorgan Lawsuit Against Insurers
Dec 14 2011 // A JPMorgan unit cannot force insurers to pay a $250 million settlement between failed investment bank Bear Stearns and government regulators, a state appeals court in New York ruled on Tuesday. Reversing a trial court, the...
Regulatory Investigations Top Directors’ List of Concerns: Willis/Overy Survey
Dec 14 2011 // The liability risks facing company directors and officers are intensifying in the wake of the economic crisis. At the head of the list are “regulatory investigations and enquiries,” which pose the greatest...
Alabama Judge Grants Probation to 4 in Oil Spill Claims Fraud
Dec 14 2011 // Four people will spend five years on probation after being convicted of pocketing money from Gulf oil spill claims. The Press-Register reported that U.S. District Judge William Steele also ordered the four to pay back...
Mutual Insurers Pleased with FDIC Rule Clarifying Dodd-Frank
Dec 13 2011 // Mutual insurers are pleased with a new proposal that makes it clear they would continue under state regulation and not be governed by the liquidation provision of the new federal Dodd-Frank Act. The proposed rule issued by...
Texas Lawmakers Named to Coastal Insurance Study Committee
Dec 12 2011 // A joint committee of state lawmakers over the next year will be looking in to alternatives for providing property insurance along the Texas coast. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has announced Texas House...
FEMA, N.Y. Officials Settle Dispute Over Flood Insurance Regulation
Dec 12 2011 // Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a new bulletin telling insurers that they should cooperate with state regulators on questions regarding federal flood insurance. There has been an ongoing turf battle...
Analysis: Health Exchange Debate not Over in Arkansas
Dec 12 2011 // The Arkansas insurance commissioner’s decision to give up on the state running a health insurance exchange isn’t the end of the fight over implementing the federal health care law that required it. It’s...
Federal Judge Rules Blogger Not Journalist in Defamation Case
Dec 9 2011 // A federal judge has ruled that a Montana blogger was not acting as a journalist when she lambasted an Oregon attorney in online statements that led to a $2.5 million defamation judgment against her. The ruling last week by...
