Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
From Med Mal Caps to RICO Violations, No Headline Shortage in 2007
Dec 23 2007 // Severe summer storms that ransacked the Midwest, a court ruling that could negatively impact the medical malpractice insurance market in Illinois and RICO allegations in Minnesota were just a few of the news stories that...
Natural Disasters, Fires, Floods, Fair Conduct Fueled Insurance Industry Discussions in 2007
Dec 23 2007 // While 2007 was surprisingly calm year for hurricanes, that doesn’t mean Mother Nature didn’t have a tantrum or two. In the past year, the West faced its share of disasters, with freezes, floods and fires making...
West Va. Privatization of Workers’ Compensation Not all Smooth Sailing
Dec 23 2007 // Gov. Manchin at odds with lawmakers over system as it prepares for more private insurers The latest power struggle between W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin’s administration and lawmakers spilled out into the open recently. Led...
Agents Wish for More Stability, But Predict Soft Market Will Continue in 2008
Dec 23 2007 // Industry hopes for disaster solutions, federal terrorism insurance extension, regulation reform and more In 2007, buyers of insurance reaped in the rewards of a soft insurance market. But for agents and brokers the soft...
On the Radar for 2008
Dec 23 2007 // It’s that time of year — predictions about everything from the economy to politics run rampant with a new year. Predicting the future is never easy. But there are some issues facing the independent agency system in...
No Day at the Beach
Dec 23 2007 // Insurance markets for coastal properties continued to challenge insurers, agents, policymakers and property owners, despite an inactive hurricane season. For the most part, while policymakers debated, private markets went...
2007: Climate Change Dominates Debate While Soft Market Hits Entire P/C Market
Dec 23 2007 // The debate over climate change captured the world’s attention, including the insurance industry’s, in 2007, while major hurricanes spared the United States’ coastline. The soft market took hold of...
Survey of Analysts Projects Healthy Underwriting Profits
Dec 23 2007 // I.I.I.’s Earlybird Forecast predicts negative premium growth but continued profitability in 2008 Next year may go down on record as one of the best insurance industry underwriting performances in the past 80 years,...
La. Insurance Regulatory Panel Approves Rate Hikes at Final Meeting
Dec 21 2007 // At its final meeting on Dec. 19, the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission – which will officially be abolished next month – approved homeowners rate increases for two insurance carriers. The Legislature...
Congress Approves Swimming Pool Drain Safety Bill
Dec 20 2007 // Congress approved legislation this week aimed at strengthening pool safety, six months after a 6-year-old girl was seriously injured by a drain’s powerful suction. The legislation would ban the manufacture, sale or...
Bush Gets Terrorism Insurance Extension Bill to Sign
Dec 19 2007 // The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) by a vote of 360 to 53 in a form closer to what the Bush Administration and the Senate would support than to an original...
N.D. Workers’ Comp Agency to Use Own Judges in Benefit Appeals
Dec 18 2007 // North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency has begun hiring its own hearing officers to referee benefit disputes, a move critics say could tilt decisions against employees who are injured on the job. The move...
Marsh Names Richmond to Product Risk Consulting Team
Dec 17 2007 // Marsh has appointed Sarah Richmond as a Risk Consultant in its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Product Risk Practice. Marsh noted that she is the “first of three new appointments to this rapidly expanding team,...
Pa. Gov. May Delay Malpractice-Fund Payments
Dec 17 2007 // Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he is probably going to allow doctors to put off payments to the state’s medical-malpractice insurance fund as lawmakers work on legislation to extend a state subsidy that lowers...
Squabble over Mich. Drug Law Intensifies after Vioxx Settlement
Dec 17 2007 // More than 1,000 Michigan residents could end up getting part of a $4.85 billion national settlement if they or their loved ones took the painkiller Vioxx. But that hasn’t squelched a firestorm over the state’s...
California Court Rules Workers’ Comp Benefits Don’t Apply at Conference
Dec 17 2007 // The family of an employee is not entitled to workers’ compensation death benefits if the death occurs while the employer is attending an educational conference, the Court of Appeal in California has ruled. In City of...
Miss. Katrina Lawyer’s Contempt Case Reassigned to Florida Judge
Dec 14 2007 // The criminal contempt case of Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs was reassigned to a Florida judge Wednesday because 16 federal judges in north Alabama recused themselves from the case. C. Roger Vinson, Northern...
Lawmaker Suggests Review of Denied Workers Comp Claims
Dec 14 2007 // North Dakota’s workers compensation agency should undertake a new review of some denied benefit claims from injured workers, a lawmaker says. Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, said the review is needed because of...
Lloyd’s Comments on Florida Changing Reinsurance Collateral Rules
Dec 12 2007 // Lloyd’s Director & General Counsel Sean McGovern, called Florida’s decision to explore making changes in the collateral insurance requirements for foreign, or “alien,” reinsurers, such as...
Texas Lawmakers, Workers Criticize Court’s Liability Ruling
Dec 12 2007 // Four state lawmakers and the Texas AFL-CIO have asked the Texas Supreme Court to reverse its decision in a case they say incorrectly expands liability protections for employers under state workers’ compensation...
