Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fla. Regulator Vows Enforcement of 2007 Law, Insurers Weigh In
Jan 15 2008 // Florida’s requiring that insurance company executives testify publicly about why their property insurance rates have not gone down proves the state is serious about its efforts to make property insurance available...
Wis. Judge Orders $715,000 Restitution from Man Who Caused Crash
Jan 15 2008 // A Sussex man convicted of injuring a 59-year-old woman in a drunken vehicle crash was ordered to pay more than $715,000 in restitution. Jeffrey D. Thieme Jr., 27, was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded no...
Okla. Bill Would Require Cigarettes to Be ‘Fire Safe’
Jan 15 2008 // Oklahoma State Rep. Joe Dorman filed a measure for the upcoming legislative session that would make Oklahoma the 31st state to require cigarettes sold within the state to be so-called “fire-safe cigarettes,”...
Judge Cancels Former Okla. Commissioner’s Tax-Evasion Trial
Jan 14 2008 // A judge in Tulsa is calling off former Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher’s tax-evasion trial that was to start Feb. 11. Associate District Judge Dana Kuehn says Fisher must have another preliminary...
Declarations
Jan 13 2008 // Frankel-y Speaking “I consider the role the Mississippi Insurance Department has played in bringing Mr. Frankel and his co-conspirators to justice to be one of the finest accomplishments during my time in...
Stronger Earthquake Code Rules For Ark. On Hold
Jan 13 2008 // An Arkansas legislative committee in early January 2008 put off a review of the state’s building code after lawmakers questioned costs related to making structures withstand earthquakes that come once every 2,500...
Texas Establishes Performance Incentives for Workers’ Comp Carriers, Providers
Jan 13 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation now has in place a rule establishing incentives for performance-based oversight for workers’ comp carriers and health care providers. The...
Montana High Court Rules in Favor of Employees in Workers’ Comp Cases
Jan 13 2008 // The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of two employees in recent workers’ compensation decisions, saying they are due insurance for injuries received while on break and at a company party. In one case, a woman...
Aiming to Improve Alaska
Jan 13 2008 // A small state like Alaska sometimes has trouble convincing the property/casualty insurance industry of creating opportunities in its state. So Alaska Director of Insurance Linda Hall relies on her experiences as a former...
The World According to TRIPRA
Jan 13 2008 // Passage of federal terrorism insurance extension buys another seven years for industry to find a long-term solution Many in the insurance industry breathed a cool sigh of relief when just five days before the Terrorism...
N.Y. Judge Rules Evidence in Celebrex Case Unreliable
Jan 11 2008 // A New York court has ruled that plaintiffs suing Pfizer Inc. over its pain medication Celebrex do not have reliable scientific evidence to prove the drug can cause heart attacks and strokes at the 200-milligram dose, the...
Maine Lawmaker Wants Mandatory Boat Safety Class
Jan 11 2008 // A Maine lawmaker says the state has the highest boating fatality rate in New England, and he wants to do something about it. Rep. Thom Watson of Bath is proposing mandatory, one-time boating safety courses after a year in...
Judge Sanctions Texas Mutual, Company Will Appeal Decision
Jan 11 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company says it respectfully but strongly disagrees with the sanctions against it ordered by Dallas Judge Martin Hoffman on Jan. 9, 2008, in the case of Texas Mutual v. Juan Narvaez. The company says...
Erie Insurance Says It Handled Former Judge’s Claim Correctly
Jan 8 2008 // Erie Insurance Group says an internal investigation shows the company properly handled a claim by former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce. Joyce has been indicted on charges he bilked Erie Insurance and...
Texas Performance-Based Oversight Incentive Rule Established
Jan 8 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation reported that Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts signed a rule establishing incentives for performance-based oversight for...
West Virginia Lawmakers Urged to Ignore Asbestos Proposal
Jan 8 2008 // A leading expert on the way West Virginia’s courts handle asbestos claims urged legislators Sunday to avoid proposed changes to the system. “Not only is it a mistake, it would be unnecessary,” retired...
W. Va. Lawmakers Resume Move Toward Oversight of Workers’ Comp
Jan 8 2008 // West Virginia’s insurance commissioner still objects, but lawmakers continue to pursue some role overseeing the privatization of the workers’ compensation system. A joint Judiciary Committee panel voted Sunday...
Delays Plaque Ill. Studies of Hospital Safety; Obama Champion of Law
Jan 7 2008 // When state lawmakers passed two pioneering laws aimed at providing hospital safety information to patients, health care experts said Illinois was a national model. Four years and many missed deadlines later, that’s...
Lloyd’s Becomes Chile’s First ‘Approved Foreign Insurer’
Jan 7 2008 // Lloyd’s announced that it has become the first foreign entity to take advantage of a recent regulatory change in Chile’s insurance practice. Following the signing of a Free Trade Agreement in 2007...
Judge Dismisses Bid to Throw Out $2.4B R.I. Lead Paint Cleanup Plan
Jan 7 2008 // A judge last Friday refused to strike down a proposal from the state that calls for three former lead paint manufacturers to pay an estimated $2.4 billion to clean up roughly a quarter-million homes in Rhode Island. The...
