Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Top 10 Stories of the Year – South Central
Dec 24 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...
Professional liability in a financial world
Dec 24 2006 // What professional liability exposures do financial institutions face today? Have risks significantly changed since 2001? If so, why? Major events have had a direct impact on insurers, agents and the industry and have...
La. Judge Denies Move to Block Citizens from Hiking Rates
Dec 22 2006 // A judge has denied a request from a homeowner to immediately block Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from raising rates, but will consider arguments that the state’s insurer of last resort is...
Court Upholds Worker’s Claim Under Maine Medical Leave Act
Dec 22 2006 // A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Maine car salesman who says he was unjustly fired while taking medical leave that should have been protected by state law. The 1st U.S Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday...
ID Theft, Fraud Case Leads Okla. AG to Ask for Statute Change
Dec 21 2006 // Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s office will propose legislation to expand his Consumer Protection Unit’s prosecutorial authority. In a release, Edmondson said a case he recently filed, which concerns...
La. Judge: Insurers Liable for Water
Dec 21 2006 // Even though a homeowner’s insurance policy said floods were not covered, leaving that statement out of the application left the company liable for damages to a house destroyed by Hurricane Rita’s winds and...
Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Part of Gov. Bush’s Legacy
Dec 19 2006 // Earlier this year, Ginny Stevans began compiling the “book of tears” – dozens of e-mails from Floridians who are suffering because of skyrocketing property insurance rates. Stevans, president of a Pasco...
Maine Lawmaker in Drive to Jail Repeat Drunk Drivers
Dec 19 2006 // This year, the target for Maine lawmakers in Augusta was habitual offenders. Next year, it’ll be repeat drunken drivers. State Sen. Bill Diamond was a sponsor of Tina’s Law, which was signed into law earlier...
La. Gov. Gets Just Two Bills Passed in Special Session
Dec 18 2006 // Legislators gave Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco little of what she wanted in her failed legislative session, approving just two of her bills on Dec. 15: plans to rebate homeowners’ insurance fees and to use $300...
Court Rules Company Not Liable for Employee’s E-mail Threats
Dec 18 2006 // A California Court of Appeals has ruled that an employer whose employee sends threatening e-mail messages and posts them on an Internet bulletin board using the company’s computer is not liable as an interactive...
1st Amendment Protects Atkins Diet from Suit, Rules N.Y. Judge
Dec 15 2006 // The Atkins diet is protected by the First Amendment against the claims of a Florida man who said the low-carbohydrate meal plan was dangerous and to blame for his heart troubles, a federal judge in New York ruled this...
Mich. Special Legislative Session Includes Senior Discount Proposal
Dec 15 2006 // Lawmakers are expected to wrap up the 2005-06 session this week. Among the bills acted on and sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her consideration this week: Bills that would allow an automobile insurer to offer a premium...
Ohio Injured Workers Felt Pressure by Lawmakers, Businesses, Records Say
Dec 15 2006 // Employees at Ohio’s insurance fund for injured workers struggled with pushy lawmakers and threats by businesses to involve the governor as they decided premium rates for certain Ohio businesses, newly released...
N.Y. Gov.-Elect Spitzer Nominates Dinallo as Insurance Chief
Dec 15 2006 // Mass. Incoming New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will nominate Eric Dinallo, the former head of Spitzer’s own investment public protection division while he was attorney general and currently general counsel of Willis...
Allstate Floridian Lowers Rate Bids
Dec 14 2006 // Under pressure from state regulators, Allstate’s two Florida homeowners insurance companies are drastically shrinking the size of the rate increase they’re seeking. Allstate spokesman Ryan Priest said the...
