Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Throws Out All Federal Antitrust Charges Against Insurers, Brokers
Sep 6 2007 // Finding the charges lack any factual support, a federal judge has dismissed a big antitrust conspiracy case that was lodged against large commercial insurance brokers and insurers back in 2004 when bid rigging and account...
Costs of Wildfires go to Montana Lawmakers
Sep 5 2007 // The speaker of the Montana House says he has no quarrel with Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s request for $55 million to pay for fighting wildfires as lawmakers convene in a special legislative session this week. But Speaker...
La. Insurance Market Outlook Brighter Some Predict
Sep 5 2007 // Two years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the insurance market in Louisiana may have hit bottom and could be ready for a rebound as levees are strengthened and the state undertakes regulatory changes, the state’s...
Nine-term Ind. State Lawmaker Lageschulte Dies in Waverly
Sep 5 2007 // A nine-term state lawmaker and former insurance adjuster and farmer who was instrumental in getting the state’s beverage container deposit and open school enrollment bills passed in the Legislature has died. Raymond...
New Law Allows Texas Drivers Flexibility on Paying Penalty Surcharges
Sep 4 2007 // A new state law enables the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer more flexibility for the nearly 775,000 drivers who haven’t paid state surcharges for driving violations. The law, which took effect Saturday, is...
Ala. Coast Condo Industry Pushes for Action on Rising Insurance Rates
Sep 4 2007 // As Labor Day tourists take an end-of-summer beach trip, owners of thousands of condominiums that line the Alabama Gulf Coast say they’re getting burned by soaring insurance premiums. Insurance legislation aimed at...
Calif. Bill to Lower Industry Support for Earthquake Coverage
Sep 4 2007 // California homeowners who buy earthquake insurance through the state-run California Earthquake Authority (CEA) could see their premiums rise under a bill that passed an Assembly committee over opposition from the state...
An “unholy alliance”
Sep 3 2007 // As professional insurance agents, we might in a quirky way consider ourselves flattered that there are never-ending attempts to take our business away from us. If we weren’t so successful at what we do, we would be...
Calif. approves Geico rate reduction
Sep 3 2007 // The California Department of Insurance has announced it has approved GEICO’s 10.8 percent rate reduction in personal auto insurance policies. The reduction should translate into $65.8 million in overall savings for...
Staying afloat in complex construction insurance waters
Sep 3 2007 // With the tidal wave of legal cases involving construction defects bogging down county, state and federal courts, it has become imperative that insurers “cover their behinds” from every imaginable angle —...
Calif. approves Geico rate reduction
Sep 3 2007 // The California Department of Insurance has announced it has approved GEICO’s 10.8 percent rate reduction in personal auto insurance policies. The reduction should translate into $65.8 million in overall savings for...
Calif. court rules workers’ comp costs can be tallied in incentive plans
Sep 3 2007 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that incentive compensation plans, calculated on profits, can subtract out costs for workers’ compensation costs from profits, even if it discourages employees from reporting...
An “unholy alliance”
Sep 3 2007 // An analysis of the campaign to advance federal regulation of insurance As professional insurance agents, we might in a quirky way consider ourselves flattered that there are never-ending attempts to take our business away...
Southern discomfort
Sep 3 2007 // A leading national independent agency leader urged Southern governors to use their “bully pulpits” to bring together the leaders in the insurance industry to ease the region’s coastal insurance...
Florida home insurers, politicians at odds over rate filings
Sep 3 2007 // About seven months ago, Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation he said would lower property insurance premiums. It hasn’t quite turned out that way. State officials had promised rates would drop about 25 percent on...
Southern governors hear from insurance execs on coastal coverage
Sep 3 2007 // Southern governors and insurance executives met late last month in Biloxi, Miss., about the challenges of keeping insurance coverage in coastal areas that are vulnerable to hurricanes, but they reached no consensus on how...
Ohio court ruling could impact auto damage claims
Sep 3 2007 // An Ohio couple whose vehicle was wrecked are entitled to more than just the money it will cost to repair it, according to a state appeals court ruling that found the couple also should be compensated because the accident...
News Currents
Sep 3 2007 // Florida home insurers, politicians at odds over rate filings About seven months ago, Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation he said would lower property insurance premiums. It hasn’t quite turned out that way. State...
Southern governors hear from insurance execs on coastal coverage
Sep 3 2007 // Southern governors and insurance executives met late last month in Biloxi, Miss., about the challenges of keeping insurance coverage in coastal areas that are vulnerable to hurricanes, but they reached no consensus on how...
Editor’s Note: Southern discomfort
Sep 3 2007 // Southern governors, hardly a group to create government programs where they aren’t needed, are frustrated over what to do. A leading national independent agency leader urged Southern governors to use their...
