Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Turns to Surplus Lines to Help Depopulate Citizens
Dec 9 2011 // Florida lawmakers are considering allowing surplus lines carriers to participate in the depopulation programs of the state’s largest homeowner insurer in an effort to reduce its policyholder rolls. Citizens Property...
UK Insurance Association: Solvency II May Help or Hinder EU Growth
Dec 9 2011 // Amidst all the turmoil in the euro zone, the implementation of the Solvency II regulations, governing the 27 members of the European Union, including the UK, grinds inexorably forward. It is a fact of life for British...
Michigan Senate Approves Workers’ Compensation Changes
Dec 8 2011 // Workers’ compensation reform legislation that supporters say will help reduce employer costs for helping injured workers has advanced in Michigan. The state Senate has passed a bill that was previously approved in...
Despite Consensus, Politics Stymies Federal Flood Reform
Dec 8 2011 // In this era of sharp political differences, the need for a national flood insurance program is one area where just about everyone agrees. Even so, the program is a victim of Washington partisanship, actuaries were told at...
Senate Approves Flood Insurance Extension to May 2012
Dec 7 2011 // The U.S. Senate passed an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through May 31, 2012. The legislation, introduced by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., passed the Senate by unanimous consent and must now be taken...
Latest Analysis Concludes Foreign Insurers Missing Out on China Party
Dec 7 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...
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Says Legislation Needed for Real Change
Dec 6 2011 // Florida’s largest homeowner insurer is offering a slate of coverage changes, but concedes that without legislative changes there will be little reduction in its exposure or policyholder count. Gov. Rick Scott last...
Torus Acquires Renewals of C.V. Starr for Continental Europe; Interview with Int’l. CEO O’Donohoe
Dec 5 2011 // Torus announced that it has entered into an agreement with Starr Underwriting Agents Limited whereby Torus Syndicate 2243 acquires the renewal rights to CV Starr Syndicate 1919’s Continental European Marine,...
Lawmakers Block Safety Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments
Dec 5 2011 // Lawmakers responded to pleas from industry and foreign governments on Friday with a tentative agreement to block the Obama administration from requiring that air shipments of lithium batteries be treated as hazardous cargo...
Well-Meaning Decisions Yield Unintended Consequences
Dec 5 2011 // It would be difficult to find an industry more competitive than the insurance business. Our long-term results prove that to be true. Far more often than not, the industry loses money on what is supposed to be our core...
Judge Rejects Citigroup-SEC Mortgage Settlement
Dec 5 2011 // A federal judge blocked Citigroup Inc.’s proposed $285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the top U.S. market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements. U.S. District...
Judge: Transocean Insurance not Available to BP for Oil Spill
Dec 5 2011 // States May Pursue Punitive Damages Against BP and Others. BP has lost two big rulings in its fight to shield itself from potentially having to pay billions of dollars more in damages related to the worst offshore oil spill...
N.Y. Loosens Regulations for Large Commercial Insureds
Dec 5 2011 // New York State Department of Financial Services issued new rules to implement a new state law that deregulates most insurance business for large, sophisticated companies and public entities. The law exempts insurers from...
Nebraska Health Providers Urge State-based Insurance Exchange
Dec 2 2011 // Nebraska should not wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Obama administration’s health care overhaul before it prepares a state-based insurance exchange, a leading hospital advocate said. Bruce Rieker, a...
North Carolina Law on Electronics Coverage to Take Effect
Dec 2 2011 // North Carolina companies that sell portable electronics coverage will soon be able to offer insurance under a new state law that is due to take effect at the end of the year. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a...
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Non-U.S. Claims Against Toyota
Dec 2 2011 // Toyota Motor Corp has won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit brought by vehicle owners in 14 other countries who said their Toyotas lost value because of the Japanese automaker’s mishandling of alleged unintended...
Judge Allows Indiana State Fair Victims to Form Class
Dec 1 2011 // A federal judge certified all of the victims of the Indiana State Fair concert stage collapse into a single class in a lawsuit challenging a law that caps the state’s liability at $5 million, but she concluded the...
Geithner Hits Attempts to Weaken Wall Street Reforms
Dec 1 2011 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that opponents of financial-sector reform were trying to sabotage efforts to strengthen the system against crisis. “With millions of Americans still...
Safety Oversght of Government Aircraft Lacking
Nov 30 2011 // Nonmilitary government agencies operate more aircraft than the world’s largest airline but are subject to little federal safety oversight — a situation accident investigators say has contributed to air crashes and...
Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban for Auto Insurance
Nov 29 2011 // Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that bans the use of credit in underwriting and rating private passenger motor vehicle insurance in his state. The law, Chapter 195 of the Acts of 2011, was...
