Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Editor’s Note: Wind, water and legislative storm
Oct 8 2007 // More than two years have gone by, but no one can forget the devastating effects Hurricane Katrina had on the Gulf Coast. Yet legislators and industry leaders continue to debate how to prevent future problems associated...
News Currents
Oct 8 2007 // California clarifies surplus lines rules for retail agents California retail agent-brokers not transacting insurance on behalf of surplus line broker organizations are not required to follow a new law affecting surplus...
Washington insurers, trail lawyers at odds over treble damages
Oct 8 2007 // With millions in campaign contributions and plenty of name-calling, trial lawyers and insurance companies in Washington are doing their best to spice up this fall’s otherwise ho-hum statewide vote. At issue is...
Supreme Court to hear case pitting federal v. state product liability laws
Oct 8 2007 // The Supreme Court said late last month that it will decide a case that centers on whether federal regulation of pharmaceuticals preempts state law. The case involves a product liability lawsuit against Pfizer’s...
News Currents
Oct 8 2007 // The offshore reinsurance tax debate resurfaces in Congress again Domestic-owned insurers claim Bermuda-based companies hold an unfair tax advantage An industry executive, representing a coalition of 14 large U.S.-based...
News Currents
Oct 8 2007 // House-passed flood insurance bill provides optional windstorm coverage The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a measure updating the nation’s flood insurance program that will give homeowners the option of...
Florida Legislature Passes No-Fault Car Insurance for Jan. 1 Return
Oct 6 2007 // Florida drivers, you may want to be a little more careful than usual for the rest of the year. Despite the fact that it caused a lot of late nights and tension for lawmakers and lobbyists this month, most people in Florida...
N.Y. Proposes ‘Rainy Day’ Catastrophe Insurance Fund With Eventual Tax Break
Oct 5 2007 // Insurance companies providing homeowners, business and other property insurance in New York State would be required to create a catastrophe reserve fund to help pay claims caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters...
Safety Group Opposes Ill. Senate Bill that Increases Truck Speed Limits
Oct 4 2007 // A safety group is speaking out about the what they say are the dangers of the override of Illinois SB 540, which allows large tractor-trailer trucks to travel on rural, four-lane highways at the same speed limits as...
Fla. Governor: Some Insurance Rate Filings Will Likely be Rejected
Oct 4 2007 // Despite a Florida law passed in January that officials promised would lower property insurance rates, many companies this week have requested to raise rates. Gov. Charlie Crist said, however, that insurance regulators...
For Small Fla. Insurer, Sunshine State Brings Storm Clouds
Oct 3 2007 // From “Happy Days” to “The Perfect Storm” is how one Florida insurance executive describes her state’s turbulent and defining years between 2003 and 2007 – and she isn’t talking...
Fla. Releases Medical Malpractice Report, Favorable Trend Continues
Oct 3 2007 // A recent state-sponsored report showed a continuing trend of recovery for the Florida medical malpractice industry – an industry that experienced double-digit rate increases and lack of availability prior to the 2003...
House Panel to Begin Airing Insurance Regulatory Reform Proposals Today
Oct 3 2007 // Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, will hold a hearing today on the need for insurance regulatory reform . This...
Judge Dismises Corruption Charges Against Marsh, Brokers, Insurers
Oct 2 2007 // The same federal judge who early in September dismissed all federal antitrust charges against Marsh & McLennan Companies and a group of other brokers and insurers has now thrown out all related federal charges of...
Pa. Judge Accused of Bilking Insurers to Take His Defense to Trial
Oct 2 2007 // Suspended Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce intends to stand trial on federal money laundering and mail fraud charges, according to his lawyer. Attorney David Ridge refused to comment on the defense...
No Consensus for Alabama Special Session on Coastal Insurance
Oct 2 2007 // Alabama legislators unveiled a law designed to help the Gulf Coast real estate industry and coastal homeowners hit by high insurance rates but Gov. Bob Riley said there is no current consensus to address it in a special...
FERMA Conference Opens in Geneva
Oct 2 2007 // More than 1200 participants assembled Monday morning at Geneva’s International Conference Center for the fifth Forum of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA). Delegates were welcomed by...
Mo. Governor: 2006 Med Mal Report Shows Positive Results
Oct 2 2007 // The medical malpractice insurance market has stabilized following escalating medical malpractice costs that caused a downturn in the market from 1999 – 2003, according to the 2006 Medical Malpractice Report recently...
N.Y. Judge Dismisses Suit over Gauguin Painting Appraisal
Oct 1 2007 // A judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a small landscape painting by Paul Gauguin which a buyer said was appraised at millions of dollars above its value by a well-known dealer who had “an ownership interest” in...
N.D. Commissioner’s Departure Sparks Debate on Conflict of Interest
Oct 1 2007 // Consumer spokesmen want a national group of insurance regulators to toughen its conflict-of-interest policies, in part because of questions raised by last month’s resignation of former North Dakota Insurance...
