Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Supreme Court ruling limits investors’ antitrust
Jul 2 2007 // Last month’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that blocks investors from suing Wall Street investment banks under antitrust laws could save Wall Street firms a bundle by limiting investors to smaller recoveries. In...
Contracts count when dealing with subcontractors
Jul 2 2007 // Language, legislative knowledge, and right insurance partner keys to wrapping up volatile market One of the many challenges general contractors — both commercial and residential — have faced over the past five...
Declarations
Jul 2 2007 // Declarations Dangerous pooches “You never hear stories about roving packs of golden retrievers attacking children in our streets. … But you do hear about the pit bulls, who are responsible, according to...
News Currents
Jul 2 2007 // Gov. Riley halts hike in Alabama auto liability limits Alabama Gov. Bob Riley decided to veto legislation that would have raised the minimum liability insurance limits that motorists must buy because he was concerned the...
Fla. regulators again irk insurers over credit rule
Jul 2 2007 // Property/casualty insurers are complaining that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is “off the mark” in developing rules implementing a law passed in 2003 addressing insurers’ use of credit...
Focus key to surviving insurance industry challenges
Jul 2 2007 // The “big problems” facing insurance agents and brokers today are human resources; government intervention; sustaining agency revenue growth/profit; maintaining a consistent company strategy and tactics; and...
Streamlining surplus lines
Jul 2 2007 // Declarations “Non-admitted insurance reform is a pro-consumer piece of legislation. HR 1065 makes it clear that the state where the policyholder resides should be the state that is in charge of regulation. …...
Lawyers, businesses groups tackle Oregon product liability laws
Jul 2 2007 // Business advocates and trial lawyers could be headed for a showdown over Oregon’s product liability laws before the legislative session comes to its scheduled end, and the verdict is anything but certain. The fight...
Supreme Court ruling limits investors’ antitrust
Jul 2 2007 // Last month’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that blocks investors from suing Wall Street investment banks under antitrust laws could save Wall Street firms a bundle by limiting investors to smaller recoveries. In...
Contracts count when dealing with subcontractors
Jul 2 2007 // One of the many challenges general contractors — both commercial and residential — have faced over the past five years involves subcontractor insurance. The subcontractor marketplace has always been volatile....
Maine Gov. Baldacci Signs Bill Allowing Dirigo to Self-Insure
Jun 29 2007 // Gov. John Baldacci this week signed into law a bill that authorizes Maine’s Dirigo Health program to self-insure. But it doesn’t mean that will happen overnight, or even anytime soon. For now, the...
N.Y. Court Rules Drunk Driving Does Not Include Using Inhalants with Alcohol
Jun 29 2007 // A motorist accused of “huffing” stimulants from an aerosol can before getting into a deadly wreck cannot be charged with driving while intoxicated, New York’s highest court ruled Wednesday. The...
Mich. House Passes Bill to Increase Use of Child Safety Seats
Jun 29 2007 // More Michigan children would be required to travel in safety car seats under legislation passed this week by the state House. Current Michigan law generally requires children under 4 to ride in a child restraint system,...
S&P’s European Insurance Symposium Highlights Impending Changes
Jun 28 2007 // Kathleen A. Corbet, President of Standard & Poor’s, told the audience at its second annual European Insurance Symposium that the insurance sector is at a critical point, with the move to greater transparency,...
Passengers Have Duty to Aid Crash Victims, N.J. Court Rules
Jun 28 2007 // Two passengers who witnessed their intoxicated friend crash his car into the back of a motorcycle had an obligation to help the injured man, a New Jersey appellate court has ruled. The driver and his passengers made 44...
Treasury Chief Paulson Vows Review of U.S. Financial Services Regulation
Jun 28 2007 // The Bush administration plans to review the U.S. government’s regulatory system for financial institutions with the goal of making changes to better reflect modern markets. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the...
Crist: Fla. Home Insurance Rates Haven’t Fallen as much as Hoped
Jun 28 2007 // Gov. Charlie Crist knows a new law hasn’t cut home insurance rates as much as he and consumers had expected. Crist said some insurance companies have not filed for rates as low as he had hoped after lawmakers changed...
Fla. Office of Insurance Regulation Announces Staff Changes
Jun 27 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty recently announced new staff changes for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. “The new additions to our management team give the Office an exceptional combination...
Fla. Gov. Signs Citizens’ Rate Freeze at Home of Katrina Victims
Jun 27 2007 // In Miami, Florida Governor Charlie Crist ceremonially signed legislation to continue insurance reforms by freezing Citizens Property Insurance rates and implementing additional measures he said will help stabilize the...
Judge: WTC Volunteer Fireman’s Family Entitled to Death Benefit
Jun 26 2007 // Rebuffing the government, a U.S. judge ruled that the family of a volunteer firefighter who died in the burning World Trade Center towers, is eligible for a death benefit given to public safety officers killed in the line...
