Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
As the Soft Market Continues, Calif. Wholesalers Seek Specialty Niches
Mar 10 2008 // Relationships with agents, brokers and regulators critical to CIWA members The members of the California Insurance Wholesalers Association (CIWA) play a vital role in the state’s insurance market. To find out how...
Nanotechnology: A Big Risk in a Small Package?
Mar 10 2008 // Nanotechnology presents great opportunity, but the impact on insurance is still unknown Insurance professionals gathered in the oak-paneled Old Library of Lloyd’s of London this past December to learn more about a...
Senate Confronts Product Safety
Mar 7 2008 // A bill to crack down on dangerous consumer products was approved by the U.S. Senate Thursday after a year of recalls of millions of lead-tainted toys and other hazardous products, many made in China. The bill would beef up...
Connecticut Lawmakers Weigh Stricter Teen-Driving Laws
Mar 7 2008 // Connecticut lawmakers are hoping a bill aimed at tightening teen driving laws will clear its first legislative hurdle today. That’s when a vote in the Transportation Committee is scheduled. The bill – a...
La. Judge Won’t Remove Broussard, Jeff Parish from Flood Lawsuit
Mar 7 2008 // A state judge in Louisiana has refused to remove Jefferson Parish and its president from a lawsuit filed by parish residents over flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. At issue in the lawsuit is the decision to...
Daycare Liability Bill Gets Bipartisan Support in Okla. House
Mar 6 2008 // Legislation that requires daycare centers to carry liability insurance has received bipartisan support in an Oklahoma House of Representatives committee. The House Human Services Committee voted 15-0 for the legislation...
Ind. General Assembly Passes Crash Tax Ban; Awaits Governor’s Signature
Mar 6 2008 // The Indiana General Assembly recently passed a ban on accident response fees and Washington-based the American Insurance Association urged Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) to sign the bill. “A fundamental purpose of...
New Yorkers To Get Flood Notices Every Year
Mar 6 2008 // New York lawmakers have decided once is not enough — at least when it comes to telling homeowners that floods will not be covered by a standard homeowners policy. Under legislation signed this week by Gov. Eliot...
Judge Upholds Montana’s Decision to Ban ‘Discretionary Clauses’
Mar 6 2008 // A federal judge has upheld a ruling by State Insurance Commissioner John Morrison prohibiting “discretionary clauses” in group health and disability insurance policies in Montana. The ruling by U.S. District...
Legislators Adopt Resolution in Support of Agent Licensing Registry
Mar 5 2008 // The National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ Executive Committee unanimously adopted a widely supported Resolution in Support of the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) and urged all states to fully...
Kan. Senate Passes Flex Rating Legislation
Mar 4 2008 // The Kansas Senate unanimously approved a flex rating bill, SB 560, supported the insurance industry. The bill now heads to the House. Based on the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) Flex-Rating...
Insurers to Fla. Lawmakers: Make Corrections on Property Insurance
Mar 4 2008 // The convening of the Florida Legislature this week will present an opportunity for legislators to reconsider some of the problematic measures passed in 2007, according to the American Insurance Association. “From a...
La. Lawmaker Wants to Commemorate Katrina, Rita with Holiday
Mar 4 2008 // A state lawmaker from New Orleans has filed three bills that could make state holidays out of the anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which devastated the Louisiana coast in 2005. The bills by Rep. Juan LaFonta,...
States Urged to Lower Drinking Age to Reduce ‘Underground’ Drinking
Mar 3 2008 // More than two decades after the country established a uniform drinking age of 21, a nascent movement is afoot to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to legally buy alcohol under some circumstances. Proponents say the higher age...
Minn. House Approves $40 Million Fund for Victims of Bridge Collapse
Mar 3 2008 // The Minnesota House approved a $40 million fund last week to compensate victims of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. The vote was 120-10 after a debate on the same day that lawmakers learned the state’s projected...
Judge Dismisses Ala. Contempt Case against Miss. Attorney Scruggs
Mar 3 2008 // A federal judge dismissed a criminal contempt charge against Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs last week, giving the prominent lawyer one less case to worry about as he fights a more serious bribery...
U.S. Judge Nixes Shareholder Suit Against Pfizer Over Failed Drug
Feb 29 2008 // A U.S. federal judge Thursday granted Pfizer Inc.’s motion to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit that alleged the company hid information and made misleading claims about a failed experimental cholesterol drug in order to...
Alabama House Votes to Raise Auto Insurance Requirements
Feb 28 2008 // The state House approved legislation Tuesday that would bring Alabama in line with about half the South by raising the minimum amount of auto liability insurance that motorists must buy. The House voted 82-0 for...
Willis Exec Lists Industry ‘Megatrends’
Feb 28 2008 // Speaking to over 400 insurance industry executives at A.M. Best’s 15th Annual Review and Preview Conference in Naples, Fla., Tom Ealy, most recently COO of the Willis North America unit of Willis Group Holdings,...
Maryland May Relieve High Risk Drivers of Premium Financing Cost
Feb 28 2008 // State lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, the insurer of last resort for many motorists, to accept installment payments like private companies. Advocates say the...
