Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wis. Senate Squeaks Through Bill to Ban Credit Scoring
Feb 10 2008 // With the 2008 legislative sessions now in full swing, many states are taking another look at the issue of insurers using credit scoring to underwrite or rate auto or homeowners insurance. Insurance trade groups are...
People
Feb 10 2008 // Susan Doyle has been named president and COO of Wisconsin-based Wausau Insurance, part of the commercial markets business unit of the Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group. Doyle replaces Mark Fiebrink, who retired. Doyle...
It’s Time to Undo Florida’s Property Insurance ‘Reforms’
Feb 10 2008 // A year has passed since Gov. Charlie Crist and a nearly unanimous Legislature hailed the arrival of a new era for Florida’s property insurance system. They promised lower rates, greater availability of insurance, and...
Allstate Still Writing in Fla. But For How Long?
Feb 10 2008 // Allstate insurance companies can keep on writing new policies in Florida under an appeals court ruling that rejected the state’s attempt to stop them, but which also potentially sets up a quick resolution to the...
Analysis: Theriot-Donelon Insurance Spat in La. Goes On
Feb 10 2008 // When they disagree, political veterans in Louisiana’s Capitol often avoid the microphones and have their arguments in private. Not so Jim Donelon and Steve Theriot. Donelon, state insurance commissioner, and Theriot,...
State Officials Not Sold on New License Rules Under Real ID Act of 2005
Feb 10 2008 // States have five more years to verify identity, reissue licenses; even so some states continue to refuse compliance State officials and some in Congress remain skeptical about new federal rules for driver’s licenses,...
Colo. Legislation to Ban Use of Credit Scoring in Underwriting Defeated
Feb 10 2008 // Agents, insurers praise legislation’s defeat but say the battle is not over yet As the issue of credit scoring continues to be the subject of state legislative proposals, insurance agents in Colorado are celebrating...
Democrats Blast FDA Labeling Rule as Liability Shield for Drug Makers
Feb 10 2008 // Proposed rules limit when drug manufacturers can change warnings labels without FDA approval The Bush administration wants to limit the situations where drug companies can change warning labels when they know of unsafe...
Judge Sentences Milberg Weiss Lawyer for Class-Action Kickbacks
Feb 10 2008 // Retired attorney Lazar, first of seven from firm to plead guilty, sentenced to home detention, probation A retired attorney who pleaded guilty in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of...
Fla. Lawmakers Schedule More Hearings on Property Insurance Rates
Feb 8 2008 // After two more days of grueling questions to Florida state regulators and insurance company executives, a special Senate panel wrapped up its business Tuesday as confused as when it began. In fact, the Select Committee on...
NAS Offers Regulatory Business Shutdown Coverage
Feb 6 2008 // NAS Insurance Services introduced a new regulatory business shutdown expense insurance that provides businesses with extra expense protection if they are shutdown by a regulatory agency such as a health or police...
Allstate Defends Property Insurance Rate Proposal to Lawmakers
Feb 6 2008 // Warming oceans, and the possibility they may bring more hurricanes, have to be considered when setting property insurance rates, Allstate officials told lawmakers Monday, defending themselves against allegations they are...
Judge Weighs Dropping Financial Firms from Enron Lawsuit
Feb 4 2008 // A federal judge in Houston said Friday she will evaluate whether three high profile financial institutions being sued for $40 billion in connection with Enron Corp.’s collapse should be dropped from litigation after...
Lawmakers Look to Help December Flood Victims
Feb 4 2008 // There’s silence in John Brunoff’s Washington dairy farm, except for the sound of a lone worker hosing an empty 5,000-gallon milk tank. Just nine weeks ago, more than 270 cows filled this organic dairy farm with...
Court: Allstate Can Still Write Policies in Florida, for Now
Feb 4 2008 // Allstate insurance companies can keep on writing new policies in Florida under an appeals court ruling that rejected the state’s attempt to stop them, but which also potentially sets up a quick resolution to the...
Rebuking Agency, Judge Dismisses Katrina Lawsuit Against Corps
Feb 1 2008 // Saying his hands were tied by law, a federal judge in New Orleans dismissed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina, but rebuked the agency for failing to...
Maryland County Proposal Calls for Contracts for Domestic Workers
Feb 1 2008 // Lawmakers in a suburban Washington, D.C. county said this week that domestic workers and their employers should be required to sign contracts to ensure the workers receive fair wages, overtime and other protections against...
Insurers Say Property, Flood Insurance, Regulation Top Concerns in ’08
Feb 1 2008 // A group of insurers says it hopes U.S. lawmakers will continue to focus on the need for affordable property insurance, an optional federal charter for the insurance regulatory system in America, and comprehensive flood...
Lawmakers Want Answers from Mine Administration on Penalties
Jan 31 2008 // Lawmakers want to know why federal mine safety regulators didn’t assess penalties for hundreds of citations issued since 2000, and what is being done to correct the problem. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health...
Colo. Agents Praise Credit Scoring Ban Defeat; Next Up: Wisc.
Jan 31 2008 // As the issue of credit scoring continues to be the subject of state legislative proposals, insurance agents in Colorado are celebrating the defeat of a bill that would have prohibited property/casualty insurers from using...
