Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Few Lawmakers Support Tougher Nebraska Liquor Liability Law
Dec 29 2009 // Few Nebraska lawmakers participating in an Associated Press survey say they support legislation making liquor license holders liable for serving intoxicated customers who leave their establishments and hurt themselves or...
Michigan Auto Insurance Bills Stall As Senate Adjourns Without Acting
Dec 28 2009 // The Michigan Senate adjourned before Christmas without taking action on a property/casualty insurance bill package already passed by the House of Representatives. The package would, among other things, give the insurance...
Oregon Announces Insurance Aid for Laid Off Workers
Dec 24 2009 // Oregonians who have been laid off from their jobs can continue to receive help paying for health insurance into 2010. The Insurance Division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services is adopting emergency rules...
Florida Judge Approves Liquidation of First Warranty
Dec 22 2009 // A Circuit Court judge in Florida’s Leon County has ordered the warranty company, Intercontinental Marine Service Corp., which does business as First Warranty Group of Florida, into liquidation. The company, with...
Truth or Lore? Insurance ‘Factorama’ Explores the Known and Little-Known
Dec 20 2009 // It’s the end of the decade that apparently has no name as yet, but that doesn’t stop those of us at Insurance Journal from looking back at the past 10 years and beyond for known and little-known insurance...
Economies Slowly Recovering; Climate Change Negotiators Still Talking
Dec 20 2009 // Swiss Re’s recent Economic Forum at the reinsurer’s iconic London headquarters presented a far more encouraging picture of the world’s financial condition than a year ago. Thomas Hess, Swiss Re’s...
P/C Industry Certain to Face Uncertainty in 2010 and Beyond
Dec 20 2009 // The insurance industry may not see a return to relative stability and certainty for a few years as it reacts to the effects of regulatory reform, increased government intervention and potential tax law changes in the...
Judge Sets Stanford Trial for 2011; Again Asked to Compel Insurance
Dec 18 2009 // Alleged swindler Allen Stanford will spend more than a year in custody after a U.S. judge Thursday set his criminal trial for January 2011. “This criminal case is going to get under way and it is going to go on...
Congress Weighs Restoring Wall Between Banking, Insurance
Dec 17 2009 // Financial giants such as Goldman Sachs Group could be broken up under two bills introduced in the U.S. Congress Wednesday, one with the backing of former Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Both would reinstate...
Michigan House Passes Auto Insurance Reform Legislation
Dec 17 2009 // An insurance trade group says a bill passed by the Michigan House of Representatives threatens to increase auto insurance costs and harm the state’s job market and economy. The Property Casualty Insurers Association...
Judge Rules for Lloyd’s In Dispute Over Stanford’s Insurance
Dec 17 2009 // A federal judge in Houston found accused swindler Allen Stanford and his attorneys in contempt of a court order Wednesday over their attempts to collect insurance policy proceeds to pay defense costs. No sanctions were...
State Farm to Stay in Florida, Cancel 15% of Policies, Raise Rates 15%
Dec 16 2009 // State Farm Florida will remain in Florida under a negotiated agreement that allows it to cancel about 15 percent of its policies and raise rates 14.8 percent. The deal also allows its contract agents to place the business...
Judge to Rule on Virginia Tech Shooting Lawsuits by Jan. 15
Dec 16 2009 // A judge said this week he would rule by Jan. 15 on whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the families of two students slain in the mass shootings at Virginia Tech. After hearing arguments, Montgomery County Circuit Court...
New Requirements Drive Need for Surety Bonds in Texas and Arkansas
Dec 14 2009 // At least four new surety bonds have hit the market in Texas and Arkansas in the last six months, part of a wave of new bonding requirements nationwide. Brokers in both states are working to stay on top of the new mandates....
FERMA Comments on Proposed EU Insurance Block Exemption Changes
Dec 14 2009 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations, has issued a bulletin welcoming the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s latest draft of the block exemption requirements (BER) for the...
Insurance ‘Central to our Climate Security’ Says Lloyd’s CEO
Dec 11 2009 // Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward, speaking at an ancillary meeting of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, stressed that, although “this is a side event to the main negotiations,’ It shouldn’t...
House Passes Financial Services Reform Bill
Dec 11 2009 // The U.S. House approved the biggest changes in financial regulation since the Great Depression Friday, marking a win for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. With the Senate due to debate similar reforms...
Filed in 1998, Nebraska Agency Case Not Over Yet
Dec 10 2009 // After more than a decade and four Nebraska Supreme Court rulings, a new trial may soon be scheduled in a multimillion-dollar insurance dispute between Florida and Countrywide Insurance Agency. Florida is still trying to...
New Year to Bring New Pay Disclosure Rules for New York Producers
Dec 10 2009 // The new year is likely to bring new compensation disclosure rules for New York insurance producers. A pending regulation allows agents and brokers to accept incentive pay from insurers that is tied to volume and...
Florida Fines People’s Trust Agency for Unlicensed Sales; Orders Rewrites
Dec 9 2009 // A Florida online insurance agency found to have sold homeowners policies using unlicensed personnel will pay a $100,000 fine. The agency will also contact every customer affected and offer to rewrite their policies, under...
