Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ready or Not, New Surplus Lines Law Is Here
Jul 21 2011 // The implementation deadline for the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act has arrived. States have been scrambling over the past year to update surplus lines laws that will conform with NRRA requirements, while agents and...
U.S. Judge Allows Shareholder Suits Against China Accountants
Jul 21 2011 // The fourth time was the charm for shareholders suing the auditors of Shenzhen-based China Expert Technology. China Expert shareholders have been trying unsuccessfully to sue the company’s accounting firms for failing...
Good Morning NRRA! Home State Scenarios for Affiliated Groups
Jul 21 2011 // Welcome to the magical mystery tour of Home State taxation and regulation under Nonadmitted Insurance and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA). The NRRA went live at 12:01 a.m., July 21, 2011, in all time zones. You may...
Canada’s Reformed Class Action Law Wins Few Friends
Jul 20 2011 // A Canadian law designed to make it easier to bring class action suits against companies that mislead investors has all sides frustrated as it faces its first real-world tests. Changes to the Ontario Securities Act that...
California Surplus Lines Bill Signed Into Law
Jul 20 2011 // California passed legislation this week that will allow the state to implement provisions in a new federal surplus lines insurance law. The federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA), which becomes...
Massachusetts Judge: Obsolete Fire-Suppression Means No Claims Paid
Jul 20 2011 // A Massachusetts restaurant owner who failed to upgrade his obsolete fire suppression system was not entitled to collect insurance money after a massive fire six years ago — and must return $15,000 advanced to him by his...
Mississippi Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Scruggs Book Authors
Jul 20 2011 // A Lafayette County, Mississippi circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a former federal prosecutor and a political blogger over a book they co-wrote about the judicial corruption case involving former attorney...
U.S. Judge Permits Toyota Appeal in California
Jul 20 2011 // A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Toyota Motor Corp. lawyers could appeal a previous ruling allowing consumers without sudden-acceleration claims to join litigation before a Santa Ana, California, court. The ruling by...
South Dakota Is Sixth State to Join Surplus Lines Coalition
Jul 18 2011 // South Dakota has joined the Non-Admitted Insurance Multi-State Agreement (NIMA) coalition. Insurance Director Merle Scheiber signed the agreement on behalf of South Dakota, which collected nearly $29 million in excess and...
Judge Says $200M Los Angeles Train Cash Award Falls Short
Jul 18 2011 // The judge deciding how to divide $200 million among victims of a deadly Los Angeles County train crash in 2008 says it will fall far short of all the requests he received. Attorneys for the victims had requested between...
Virginia Judge Nixes Part of $1 Billion Fly Ash Lawsuit
Jul 18 2011 // A group of Chesapeake residents plans to refile a $1 billion lawsuit against Dominion Virginia Power after a judge dismissed claims that fly ash used to build a golf course harmed their health and property. The lawsuit was...
Mississippi Supreme Court Halts Asbestos Case Over Trial Judge
Jul 18 2011 // The Mississippi Supreme Court has halted all proceedings in an asbestos case until it determines whether the trial judge should have stepped down. The case resulted in a $322 million verdict. In an order signed Tuesday,...
Judge Tosses Racketeering Claims vs. BP Over Oil Spill
Jul 18 2011 // BP Plc won two legal victories Friday, as a federal judge threw out racketeering claims made by the lead plaintiffs suing over last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and also set aside a lawsuit by partner Anadarko...
U.S. Wary of Possible Cuba Oil Spill
Jul 18 2011 // With Cuba preparing to explore for oil 60 miles from Florida, the complicated politics of U.S.-Cuba relations are impeding U.S. efforts to get ready in case of a BP-style accident, analysts and oil experts said. The Obama...
U.S. Wary of Possible Cuba Oil Spill
Jul 18 2011 // With Cuba preparing to explore for oil 60 miles from Florida, the complicated politics of U.S.-Cuba relations are impeding U.S. efforts to get ready in case of a BP-style accident, analysts and oil experts said. The Obama...
Risky Decisions
Jul 18 2011 // All the devastation from natural disasters that have occurred across the nation in recent months illuminates the fact that many, many homes across the United States are either uninsured or underinsured. Violent weather,...
Vermont Tops List of Best-Regulated States
Jul 18 2011 // A conservative think tank is giving the state of Vermont high marks for insurance regulation. The Chicago-based Heartland Institute says that Vermont has the best property and casualty insurance marketplace and the best...
TWIA Legislation Includes Pre-Event Bonds; Allows for Double Damages in Lawsuits
Jul 18 2011 // In the final hours of the 2011 Special Session the Texas Legislature worked out a compromise on reforms to the state’s insurance provider of last resort for wind and hail for properties along the Texas coast. The...
Florida Tweaks Its Workers’ Compensation Law
Jul 18 2011 // A variety of changes to Florida’s workers’ compensation law went into effect July 1 after Gov. Rick Scott signed into law CS/HB 1087. The changes affect cancellations, premium audits and prepaid benefit...
Win Ratio
Jul 18 2011 // A task force of state insurance regulators has recommended that states support legislation to protect agent and broker commissions from the expense cap imposed on health insurers by the new federal healthcare law’s...
