Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Court Sides with Florida Regulator Over Texas Insurer

Feb 7 2011 // A Texas-based workers’ compensation insurer has lost its appeal of rulings by the Florida insurance commissioner that have blocked it from doing business in the state. On Jan 20, without explanation, a three-judge...

Regulatory Uncertainty Impeding Economic Recovery

Feb 7 2011 // The goal of today’s hearing is to take a step back and look at the economy from two points of view. First, the economy as it is perceived by economists and academics through the lens of their historical analysis and...

Declarations

Feb 7 2011 // Oil Spill Prevention “We must ensure that we have systems in place in our government and in the industry so that this cannot happen again.” —U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commission Co-Chair Sen....

P/C Insurers Like Some of Obama’s Plans

Feb 7 2011 // Property/casualty insurers found things to like in President Obama’s State of the Union speech that was largely focused on the economy and business. Medical malpractice reform, regulatory review, and trade agreements...

Wash. lawmakers Wade into Red-Light Camera Debate

Feb 4 2011 // Washington lawmakers are wading into a growing debate over the use of cameras to ticket speeders and people who run red lights. Initiative promoter Tim Eyman and local activists filed initiatives in Bellingham, Longview,...

Marsh Forms Alliance with Maplecroft to Assist Clients with Political Risk

Feb 3 2011 // To assist clients in analyzing and monitoring crucial political, economic, social, and environmental risks, Marsh has formed an alliance with Maplecroft, the award-winning risk analysis and mapping firm As part of the...

Arkansas Senate to Take Up Cell Phone While Driving Restrictions

Feb 3 2011 // The Senate is looking at banning drivers from using handheld cell phones in school and highway work zones, going a step further than a similar ban that passed the House this week. The Senate is considering a proposal by...

Insurers Laud New Jersey Fraud-Fighting Legislation

Feb 3 2011 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) says it wants New Jersey lawmakers to adopt legislations that would enhance fraud-fighting efforts. The insurers’ trade group, which testified today in...

Judge Finds Claims Fund Chief Feinberg Not Independent of BP

Feb 3 2011 // The administrator of BP Plc’s $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the Gulf oil spill is not independent and the oil company must refrain from calling him “neutral,” a federal judge ruled on...

Congress Trying Again on Patent Reform

Feb 3 2011 // Senior U.S. lawmakers are once again planning to reform the patent system to try to eliminate huge damage awards, an issue ripe for legislation after recent court decisions challenged calculation methods. Patent reform, in...

Predictive Modeling Improving Insurers’ Bottom Lines, Market Share

Feb 2 2011 // Property/casualty insurance carriers currently utilizing predictive modeling continue to see their bottom lines improve and almost 4 out of 10 say it has helped them increase market share. For this and other reasons,...

Federal Judge in Florida Rules Healthcare Law Must Be Voided

Jan 31 2011 // A federal judge in Florida struck down President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare overhaul as unconstitutional Monday in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law. U.S. District Judge...

Marsh Sees Soft Commercial Insurance Market Continuing

Jan 31 2011 // Another report indicates that soft commercial insurance market conditions that persisted throughout the U.S. in 2010 will continue into 2011. Key commercial insurance market drivers from 2009—including intense...

Judge Defends Spill Decision That Upset Louisiana AG

Jan 31 2011 // A federal judge said Jan. 28 that he wasn’t trying to deprive states of their rights when he appointed Alabama’s newly elected attorney general to coordinate all states’ interests in the litigation...

Oklahoma Lawmaker, Manufactured Housing Assoc. Tackling Tornado Safety

Jan 27 2011 // Oklahoma State Rep. Pat Ownbey and the Manufactured Housing Association of Oklahoma Board of Directors’ are seeking to develop sample emergency plans for mobile home communities to prevent deaths in the event of a...

Arkansas Panel Votes Down Bill Attacking Federal Health Insurance Overhaul

Jan 27 2011 // A legislative committee in Arkansas has blocked an attempt to reject a key portion of the federal health care overhaul, while another group of lawmakers passed the first appropriation bill in the third week of the...

Mississippi AG Wants Judge to Take Over BP Oil Spill Claims

Jan 27 2011 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is asking for the federal judge in charge of the litigation surrounding the BP oil spill to take over the Gulf Coast Claims Facility process. Hood filed a “Statement of Interest...

Davos Leaders Warn on Food Inflation, Speculation amid Mideast Unrest

Jan 27 2011 // World leaders warned on Thursday that soaring food prices risked stoking unrest and even war, but top executives meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos rejected calls for curbs on commodity speculation. Indonesian President...

P/C Insurers Like Some of Obama’s State of Union Promises

Jan 27 2011 // Property/casualty insurers found things to like in President Obama’s State of the Union speech that was largely focused on the economy and business. Medical malpractice reform, regulatory review, and trade...

Judge Permits Mississippi Whistleblower Case Against Insurer

Jan 27 2011 // U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. has declined to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. State Farm had sought dismissal of the 2006 lawsuit filed by Cori and Kerri Rigsby, who...