Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawmakers OK Maine Helmet Law Change
Apr 22 2009 // A bill to increase the age for mandatory motorcycle helmet use in Maine has been given final approval by the Legislature and sent to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Emily Cain...
Florida Bills to Clarify Regulation of Surplus Lines Insurance Advance
Apr 22 2009 // Florida’s surplus lines insurance brokers and carriers are encouraged that legislation to clarify the surplus lines industry’s regulatory status in the state has survived several committee hurdles and appears...
Motorists Insurance Offers Tools to Address ID Theft, ‘Red Flag’ Rules
Apr 22 2009 // Columbus, Ohio-based Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. announced it is offering educational resources to commercial lines policyholders to help them comply with new federal regulations concerning data security and identity...
Pediatricians Fight Georgia Ruling on Vaccine Liability
Apr 21 2009 // Pediatricians and other medical professionals are trying to block a Georgia Supreme Court ruling they fear could encourage lawsuits and harm production of vaccines. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which...
Texas Senate OK’s Bill to Lower Standard of Proof in Asbestos Lawsuits
Apr 21 2009 // Handing a rare victory to personal injury trial lawyers, the Texas Senate recently passed legislation that would make it easier for certain people to recover damages after being exposed to asbestos. The bill, which passed...
Texas Senate Approves Insurance Department ‘Sunset’ Bill
Apr 21 2009 // The Texas Senate has approved a measure that allows the continued operation of the Texas Department of Insurance, but would slightly reform its operations, according to a Senate new release. The bill’s author Senator...
We’re in Good Hands With State Regulators
Apr 21 2009 // Editor’s Note: The following commentary originally was addressed to Thomas Feyer with New York Times in response to an opinion expressed by Tom Wilson, CEO of Allstate, advocating federal regulation of...
Texas High Court Rules Against Insurer in Fleeing Truck Case
Apr 20 2009 // The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that an insurance company must pay a family’s claim over a child critically injured by a truck that was fleeing from police. The child’s parents, Greg and Maribel Tanner, sued...
Wife of Convicted Pennsylvania Ex-Judge Challenges Fed Forfeiture
Apr 20 2009 // The wife of a retired Pennsylvania Superior Court judge convicted of insurance fraud is challenging efforts by federal prosecutors to seize the judge’s home. Prosecutors claim former Judge Michael Joyce bought the...
A New York State of Mind
Apr 20 2009 // Superintendent Eric Dinallo Redefines the Role of Regulator in the Insurance Industry New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo was thrust into the national spotlight last year as the insurance industry’s...
Judge Blocks Michigan’s Challenge to Insurers’ Use of Credit Scores
Apr 20 2009 // Barry County Circuit Judge James Fisher issued an injunction April 10 preventing Michigan insurance regulators from challenging insurers’ home and auto insurance rate filings that use credit scoring in determining...
Lawmakers Seek to Ban Chinese Drywall
Apr 20 2009 // U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D.-Fla., and Mary Landrieu, D.-La., have filed federal legislation for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China, as people around the country are reporting problems in...
Declarations
Apr 20 2009 // A Devastating Experience “Losing everything is an unimaginable and devastating experience. … Oklahoma’s professional agents and adjusters are poised to respond.” —Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner...
Declarations
Apr 20 2009 // Chinese Drywall Concerns “I believe you’re going to see this is widespread. Anytime you have mounting evidence of potentially toxic goods you have an obligation to act quickly to protect...
Colorado Senate Panel Looks at Workers’ Comp to Fund Higher Ed
Apr 20 2009 // Colorado lawmakers are looking at a plan to take $500 million from the state-created workers’ compensation insurance company to reverse deep cuts in higher education. The Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed the...
Colorado Defeats Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Bill
Apr 20 2009 // Colorado lawmakers voted down SB 103, the Unfair Claims Practices Act. The legislation was killed in the House Health and Human Services Committee in a 6-5 vote. The bill would have “defined as an unfair claim...
Too Big to Fail
Apr 20 2009 // How the Feds Can Address Systemic Risk Without Creating More Bureaucracy America’s market-based economic system once created the largest economic engine in the world and gave this country one of the highest standards...
Colo. Democrats Offer Alternate Budget Cuts
Apr 17 2009 // Democratic legislators in Colorado are offering an alternate package of budget cuts to avoid eliminating $300 million in funding to state colleges and universities, according to plans obtained by The Associated Press. The...
Insurers Violated Maryland Regulations
Apr 17 2009 // A year-long investigation by the Maryland Insurance Administration has found that 67 of the state’s 119 car insurers underpaid claims, Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler said State regulators have fined the companies a...
U.S. Lawmaker Urges AIG CEO Liddy to Quit Over Goldman Sachs Stake
Apr 17 2009 // A U.S. congressman Thursday expressed concern about a stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. held by Edward Liddy, CEO of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc., and urged him to quit. Liddy owns shares and...
