Latest Legislation Headlines

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

California Workers’ Comp Division Strengthens Judges’ Ethics Rules

Sep 9 2008 // California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation has adopted revised ethics regulations governing workers’ compensation judges. According to the DWC, the rules and regulations “are designed to enforce...

Iowa Governor Threatens Special Session Unless $85 Million Released

Sep 8 2008 // Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on on September 5 demanded that federal officials release $85 million in disaster assistance within the next 10 days, or he’ll summon the Legislature back into a special session to find money to...

California Senate Committee Passes Pay-As-You-Drive Legislation

Sep 1 2008 // Legislation that would allow insurers to more accurately base auto insurance premiums on how many miles a motorist drives passed the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Proposition 103 requires insurers to set...

Lloyd’s in the 21st Century

Sep 1 2008 // The Modernization of Lloyd’s and the London Market Any institution — and there aren’t many — that survives and thrives for 320 years must find ways to adapt to changing conditions. Lloyd’s of...

Surplus Lines Results Remain Strong, Despite Heightened Competition

Sep 1 2008 // Brokerage M&As Expected to Continue for the Near Term; Time’s Almost Up for Congress to Pass Reform Bill Surplus lines insurers continued to outperform the property/casualty industry in underwriting and...

N.D. Judge Denies New Trial in Bad Faith Case Against American Family

Aug 29 2008 // A judge has upheld the verdict in the case of a North Dakota couple who were awarded more than $2 million in a lawsuit against an insurance company. Timothy and Sylvia Moore of Mountain sued American Family Insurance after...

S&P Report Says Oman Insurance Market Still Strong After 2007 Losses

Aug 27 2008 // In its latest report on the insurance market in the Sultanate of Oman, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services says that despite the heavy losses from Cyclone Gonu in 2007, the sector has much to commend...

California Commissioner Proposes Pay-As-You-Drive Regulations

Aug 27 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has proposed regulations that would make green auto insurance option available for California consumers. If implemented, pay-as-you-drive auto insurance would allow motorists...

State Farm Handed Win in Texas Rate Dispute Case

Aug 25 2008 // A state appeals court ruled Aug. 22 that Texas insurance regulators did not have the authority to issue a disciplinary order against State Farm Lloyds, the state’s largest home insurer, for charging rates it had...

Michigan Court Upholds Ban on Credit Scoring in Insurance

Aug 25 2008 // Insurance companies in Michigan no longer will be able to use customers’ credit scores to set home and auto insurance premiums if a state Court of Appeals ruling stands. The 2-1 decision released Friday, August 22...

Financial Regulation Reform — But Not Paulson’s — Likely in 2009

Aug 25 2008 // Efforts to overhaul U.S. financial regulation are seen gathering pace early next year, as a new Congress and administration seek to safeguard public money put at risk by recent rescue measures. The Federal Reserve’s...

Study Finds Economic Costs of Federal Cat Legislation Burdensome

Aug 22 2008 // Natural catastrophe legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and pending in the U.S. Senate would create a multi-billion dollar burden on taxpayers in at least 20 states, according to a new study released...

Sunset Report Says Texas Homebuilder Agency Should Go

Aug 21 2008 // The Texas Residential Construction Commission should be abolished because it is ineffective and frustrates homeowners trying to get builders to address defects in their homes, according to a state agency review. Created in...

By Lilla Zuill

Aug 21 2008 // The exchange would allow underwriters to form syndicates to reinsure and insure unusual or very large exposures. N.Y.’s Dinallo Sees Insurance Exchange Open by 2009 New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said...

Mass. LLJUA Becomes Competitive Hospitality Mutual

Aug 21 2008 // Massachusetts lawmakers have approved legislation converting the state’s liquor liability insurer of last resort into a competitive mutual insurance company offering liquor liability insurance to the entire...

Golf Carts on Kentucky Roads Must be Insured

Aug 21 2008 // Kentucky golfers and anyone who owns a golf cart within five-miles of a golf course entrance have the go-ahead to putter around on public roadways, per recent legislation. While the golf cart does not meet the...

National Insurer Wants to Include Flood Coverage in Home Policies

Aug 21 2008 // One of the nation’s largest insurance companies is lobbying Congress for permission to sell policies that cover damage from both wind and flood water, a plan billed as a way for insurers and homeowners to avoid...

Responding to an Insurance Department Request for Assistance

Aug 21 2008 // providing [the Department of Insurance] a well-crafted response. Receiving a letter from the California Department of Insurance concerning a customer’s complaint is truly an unsettling experience for many agents. The...

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Aug 21 2008 // S&P Says Nationals Safe, While Midwest- Focused Insurers at Risk N2 | Washington Report House Subcommittee Moves Key Federal Insurance Regulation Bills N4 | Home Insurers Bitten by $350 Million in Dog Claims Average...

Contingent Commissions Legal, N.Y. Court Rules

Aug 21 2008 // Agent groups praised Liberty Mutual for fighting the battle in court and winning. In a twist to a scandal that has rocked the insurance industry in the past several years, a New York appeals court has ruled that contingent...