Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

New York Lawmakers Propose Easing Some Insurance Regulations

Feb 21 2011 // The New York Senate Committee on Insurance has begun hearing on legislation that would extend insurance agents’ license renewals, allow multiple rating plans for personal lines insurers and clarify laws about...

Insurers Oppose South Carolina Bill on Construction Defects

Feb 21 2011 // Insurers have come out against a move by South Carolina lawmakers to extend general liability policies to include construction defects. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) says such a move would add...

Regulatory Ventilation

Feb 21 2011 // The Oversight and Government Reform Committee of U.S. House of Representatives has been looking into whether and how governmental regulations hurt business operations and job creation. In a recent hearing chaired by Rep....

Industry Has Big Legislative Goals for 2011

Feb 21 2011 // Just as state lawmakers forge ahead with new legislative goals for 2011, the insurance industry, agents and their lobbyists are doing the same across much of the Northeast. Some states have already seen and continue to see...

South Carolina House Passes Limit on Punitive Damages

Feb 21 2011 // South Carolina House Passes Limit on Punitive Damages The South Carolina House of Representatives approved limits on punitive damages by a vote of 100 to 7. The bill would limit punitive damages to three times the actual...

Allstate to Exit Banking Business

Feb 21 2011 // The Allstate Corp., the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, is getting out of the banking business. Discover Bank, a division of Discover Financial Services, is purchasing the $1.1 billion deposits...

UK Government Announces Financial Regulatory Changes; ABI, Lloyd’s Comment

Feb 18 2011 // The UK’s Conservative government recently announced the long awaited regulatory reform proposals for financial services, covering both banks and insurers. They are far reaching, and will require changes in the way...

Washington Refines Pay-As-You-Drive Legislation

Feb 18 2011 // Washington’s Senate Committee on Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance has refined a proposal to allow drivers’ insurance rates to be based primarily on the number of miles driven per year. The PAYD...

Oklahoma Agents Group Outlines Legislative Interests for 2011

Feb 18 2011 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma (IIAO) is following a number of insurance related measures that have been introduced in the current state legislative session. According to IIAO President and CEO Dan Ramsey,...

Texas Judge, a State Farm Customer, Withdraws from Overcharges Case

Feb 18 2011 // A Texas judge who’s a State Farm Insurance customer has withdrawn from hearing the company’s fight against paying $350 million in alleged overcharges. The case has been reassigned to Judge Rhonda Hurley. No new...

Pennsylvania Considers Tort Reform

Feb 18 2011 // Pennsylvania lawmakers are once again eyeing a tort reform package — a resurrection of the “Fair Share” act — that many in the insurance industry say would help put downward pressure on premiums and rein in...

Colorado House Tables Credit Disclosure Bill

Feb 17 2011 // Legislators in Colorado are considering a bill that would require additional disclosures of information that insurers use for underwriting personal lines property/casualty insurance policies. House Bill 11-1127, concerning...

Big ‘I’ Promotes McPhillips to Senior Lobbyist Role

Feb 17 2011 // Jennifer McPhillips has been promoted to senior director of federal government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and will serve as one of the...

North Carolina Lawmakers Debate Medical Malpractice Award Cap

Feb 17 2011 // North Carolina lawmakers have begun what promises to be a long fight over medical malpractice laws as insurance and medical services companies square off against law firms. A Senate committee opened discussions Tuesday on...

Regulators Face Senate Panel Over Dodd-Frank Regulations Today

Feb 17 2011 // Republicans will escalate their push to delay and defund the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms on Thursday as top regulators appear before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee with a new chairman presiding. Replacing Christopher...

Certificates of Insurance a Priority Legislative Issue for Texas Agents

Feb 16 2011 // With a massive hole in the state’s budget and the duty to redistrict, insurance issues are likely to be low priority items for Texas 82nd Legislature, which began its session in January. But Texas agents are backing...

Michigan Judge Rules Wal-Mart Can Fire Employee for Marijuana Use

Feb 16 2011 // Michigan law legalizing medical marijuana doesn’t stop private businesses from firing people for drug use, a federal judge said in dismissing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker...

Workers’ Compensation Research Group Defends Work in North Carolina

Feb 15 2011 // A non-profit workers’ compensation research organization that maintains its work is independent of the industry and objective has found itself at the center of a controversy in North Carolina over whether to trim...

New Business Court Judge Rattles Lawyers in Shareholder Suits

Feb 15 2011 // Lawyers involved in corporate litigation understandably might want to avoid the newest judge on one of the top U.S. business courts. The judge, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster, has brought some unusual tactics to the bench...

360training.com Adds Ray as Director of Regulatory and Accreditation

Feb 14 2011 // Austin, Texas-based 360training.com has appointed Matt Ray as director of Regulatory and Accreditation. Previously, Ray served in various roles with Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) for more than 23 years, most recently...