Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Supreme Court Justices Question Audit Board Under Sarbanes-Oxley
Dec 8 2009 // Several U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed to question Monday whether the president had enough authority over an agency that polices auditors of public companies. During arguments to consider if the Public Company...
One Thing Is Certain for Insurance Industry in Near Term: Uncertainty
Dec 8 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...
Florida Insurance Economist Spudeck Honored
Dec 7 2009 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today presented Dr. Raymond Spudeck, senior research economist with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, with the organization’s most prestigious...
Agents’ New Lobbying Agenda
Dec 6 2009 // The 2,074-page health care bill includes a range of items that some say could be time bombs in waiting for some agencies – or new opportunities. Until this year, health care was a minor blip on the radar of insurance...
New York Regulator Proposes Changes to No-Fault Insurance Coverage
Dec 6 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department is proposing new regulations for no-fault auto insurance coverage in the Empire State, in a move aimed at reducing fraud. “We have to be vigilant in protecting the pocketbooks...
Changes to Federal Insurance Office Act Supported by State Regulators
Dec 6 2009 // State insurance regulators have expressed support for recent changes to proposed legislation creating a Federal Insurance Office (FIO). In a letter to the House Financial Services Committee, the National Association of...
