Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Details of Democrats’ Health Care Reform Plan Emerging
Jun 10 2009 // Leading Senate Democrats unveiled Tuesday a plan to reshape U.S. healthcare that calls for sweeping insurance market reforms and prohibits insurers from denying coverage or charging more due to medical history. The measure...
CEO of Colorado Workers’ Comp Insurer: Private Would Be Better
Jun 10 2009 // The head of Colorado’s state-created workers’ compensation insurance company says the organization could do a better job if it were privatized. CEO Ken Ross told state lawmakers that Pinnacol Assurance has paid...
U.S. ‘Pay Czar’ to Have Power to Reject Compensation for Bailed Out Execs
Jun 10 2009 // The Obama administration on Wednesday will name a pay czar with the power to reject compensation plans for top employees at companies receiving “exceptional” government aid, an administration official said...
Supreme Court Favors Elected Judge Recusal In West Virginia Massey Case
Jun 9 2009 // The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a West Virginia judge should have disqualified himself from an appeal of a $50 million jury verdict against Massey Energy Co. because the coal mining company’s CEO had been a major...
Guy Carp Report Details EU Developments Affecting Insurance
Jun 9 2009 // Guy Carpenter & Company has published the latest installment in its series of updates on key legislative and legal developments impacting insurers and reinsurers in Continental Europe. The briefing addresses the...
Eldrige Named Presiding Judge of Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Court
Jun 9 2009 // Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has appointed Judge Kent Eldridge as presiding judge of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court. Eldrige succeeds Judge Mary Black. Judge Eldridge selected Judge Michael J. Harkey as vice...
Data Show New York Malpractice Payouts Steady
Jun 8 2009 // Consumer advocates say medical malpractice payouts in New York have dropped the past two years, and they are urging state officials to investigate physician complaints about rising insurance rates and automatically review...
Lawmakers: South Dakota Cell Phone Rules Might Be Tried Again
Jun 8 2009 // As other states begin passing cell phone laws, South Dakota lawmakers say they won’t be surprised if legislation to ban or limit the use of cellular phones while driving arises again in the next state legislative...
Florida’s Crist Caught Between Dueling Officials on Insurance Deregulation
Jun 5 2009 // If Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoes a bill designed to deregulate pricing for large national property insurers as appears likely, he will be siding with an appointed official over an influential lawmaker. Crist, who is...
Texas GOP Vows to Keep Insurance, Transportation Departments Open
Jun 5 2009 // Republican leaders in the Texas Legislature have promised that insurance regulation, roadbuilding and other government functions will continue in Texas despite lawmakers’ failure to pass a measure preserving the...
Illinois Department of Insurance Once Again an Independent Division
Jun 4 2009 // The Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) on June 1 resumed its status as an independent department of state government, a position it held for more than a century prior to its consolidation with several other state...
Association of British Insurers Warns of Regulation ‘Contagion’
Jun 4 2009 // The Association of British Insurers has issued a statement warning that regulators and governments “must not harm other industries, such as insurance, as they deal with the banking crisis.” In a new report,...
Amid Obstacles, Opportunities for Insurance Agents Exist
Jun 4 2009 // You don’t need to get too deep into conversation these days to find out people are afraid. Given changes in business, the economy and government, many individuals feel they don’t know what or who to trust....
Michigan Mandates Insurers File Home, Auto Insurance Forms with State
Jun 4 2009 // Michigan’s insurance regulator is reinstating a requirement that insurance companies submit all home and auto insurance documents and forms to the state insurance department for review prior to using them with the...
Judge Rules Jury to Hear Claims in Starr-AIG Battle
Jun 4 2009 // A jury should hear the claims in litigation between American International Group Inc. and Starr International Co. Inc. controlled by the troubled insurance giant’s former chief executive, Maurice “Hank”...
Obama Administration Steps Up Financial Reform Drive
Jun 4 2009 // The Obama administration stepped up its push for tougher bank and financial firm rules Thursday, scheduling a briefing for lobbyists, with a focus on insurance oversight, and sending a top regulator to a Senate hearing to...
Florida Workers’ Compensation Rates Cut to Reflect Lawyer Fee Cap Law
Jun 3 2009 // Florida’s insurance regulator has approved a rollback of workers’ compensation insurance rates from April 1 rates to the lower rates that were in effect on Jan. 1. The order by Florida Insurance Commissioner...
Georgia Court Rules Insurer Not Liable for Voluntary Settlement
Jun 2 2009 // An insured who voluntarily agrees to pay a settlement that is not dictated by a jury verdict cannot sue its insurance company for bad faith failure to defend, even if the settlement is within the policy limits, the Georgia...
Florida Surplus Lines Insurance Regulation Bill Awaits Gov.’s Signature
Jun 2 2009 // Legislation intended to clarify the regulation of the surplus lines insurance industry in Florida has reached the desk of Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist has until June 16 to sign the bill (HB 853), which the industry hopes and...
Insurance Department in Limbo as Texas Legislature Adjourns
Jun 2 2009 // While the Texas Legislature managed to pass a long sought bill, HB4409, that addresses funding for the state’s insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast, lawmakers failed to decide on other...
