Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Despite 2004 Ruling, Mexican Truck Travel Still Limited
Jan 2 2007 // Mexican trucker Brigido Moctezuma lives in a city just south of Mexico’s border with Texas, far from talks on whether he’ll be able to drive his loads of vehicle air bags all the way to assembly lines in...
Oregon Promotes Best Practices with IMSA Membership
Dec 29 2006 // The Oregon Insurance Division is recognizing the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association as a group that can help to establish “best practices” and promote consumer protection in the state. In a recent...
Lawmaker Seeks to Ban Pit Bulls from N.Y. City
Dec 29 2006 // Regarded as dangerous pets by their detractors but loved for their assertive nature by their owners, pit bulls may find themselves banned from New York City. City Councilman Peter Vallone Junior said that he wants to ban...
States Keep Looking for Ways to Expand Health Care Access
Dec 29 2006 // The national spotlight shone on Maine’s universal health care access program when it was launched two years ago. Policymakers nationwide watched to see if Dirigo Health would deliver on its promise to provide health...
New Ill. Law Effective Jan. 1 Will Help Prevent Identity Theft, Official Says
Dec 28 2006 // Beginning Monday, Jan. 1, Illinois consumers will have access to a new tool to stop identity thieves from opening new credit in their names. The new law will allow all Illinois residents to place a “security...
Ex-Md. Lawmaker Facing Charges Steps Down from Workers’ Comp Fund
Dec 28 2006 // Former Maryland state Sen. Thomas Bromwell has agreed to step down at the end of the year as head of the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund under a separation agreement announced by the organization’s board of...
After Katrina, Congress Still Keeps Extending Flood Insurance
Dec 28 2006 // The federal flood insurance program may be going broke after incurring $20 billion in debt from recent storms like Hurricane Katrina. But that hasn’t stopped politicians from trying to extend the taxpayer-subsidized...
N.J. Group Working On Mandatory Health Insurance Plan
Dec 26 2006 // New Jersey lawmakers and policy experts are working on a plan to overhaul the state’s health care system that would require all New Jerseyans to carry medical insurance but would keep the policies affordable for...
W.Va. report on Sago Mine blast leaves many questions unasnwered
Dec 25 2006 // The families of the Sago Mine victims aren’t the only ones who want more answers from the state about what went wrong Jan. 2. The United Mine Workers says the state’s theory is “cockamamie” and begs...
Commissioners, compensation rules, earthquakes made for shaky ground
Dec 25 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
2006: Agents fight to keep their pay and insurers wise up to the future
Dec 25 2006 // The fight to save contingent commissions topped the minds of agents across the nation as a few select states drove public policy efforts to end their use by insurers. The industry grabbed hold of predictive modeling and...
Despite ‘uneventful’ year, there was no escaping catastrophes in 2006
Dec 25 2006 // It was difficult to get away from natural catastrophes in 2006, even though the year was relatively unscathed by those types of events. Back-to-back 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continued to wreak havoc on insurance...
Declarations
Dec 25 2006 // Tort reform impact “It’s difficult to say whether tort reform measures have impacted this slow down in tort costs growth. We have yet to see what, if any, impact the class action reform legislation that was...
Professional liability in a financial world
Dec 25 2006 // Terrorism, corporate scandals and regulation make way for institutional change What professional liability exposures do financial institutions face today? Have risks significantly changed since 2001? If so, why? Major...
2006: Mother Nature and political deals made 2006 an unsettling year
Dec 25 2006 // From Maine to Virginia, agents and adjusters helped property owners dig out from damaging floods. High waters seemed to hit a new state every week. Meanwhile, these same agents had to worry about whether their income was...
Declarations
Dec 25 2006 // No long-term negatives “Fortunately lawmakers did not pass legislation that will have negative long-term consequences for consumers and the insurance market.” — Greg LaCost, assistant vice president and...
Contingent commissions, court rulings highlight 2006
Dec 25 2006 // In 2006, the Midwest experienced the impact of contingent commission settlements based on the actions of several attorneys general and a myriad of court rulings on insurers’ use of credit, liquor liability and...
Top 10 Stories of the Year – West
Dec 24 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
Top 10 Stories of the Year – East
Dec 24 2006 // From Maine to Virginia, agents and adjusters helped property owners dig out from damaging floods. High waters seemed to hit a new state every week. Meanwhile, these same agents had to worry about whether their income was...
Declarations
Dec 24 2006 // Tort reform impact “It’s difficult to say whether tort reform measures have impacted this slow down in tort costs growth. We have yet to see what, if any, impact the class action reform legislation that was...
