Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Managing the rising tide of employment practices lawsuits
Oct 9 2006 // The reality of today’s workplace is that a wide variety of employee grievances may escalate, almost without warning, into costly lawsuits. Any time an employee objects to a company employment practice that is...
Association launches attack on Garamendi regulations
Oct 9 2006 // California’s Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) has launched a legal attack on what it is calling California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s attempt to illegally redefine agent and...
Court rules hurt prison guard not entitledto workers’ comp
Oct 9 2006 // A California correctional officer who was hurt while helping at an accident while on his way to work is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal has ruled. The...
Declarations
Oct 9 2006 // Commissioner challenge “The principal role is to make sure that the market works; that you have insurance products that are reasonably priced that provide the service that they’re purported to do with the...
California anticipates lowering workers’ compensation insurance rates 6.3 percent
Oct 9 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced on Sept. 28 that he will likely recommend a further reduction in the state’s workers’ compensation insurance rates of at least an additional 6.3...
News Currents
Oct 9 2006 // House passes surplus lines, reinsurance regulatory reform legislation The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Sept. 27 that would apply single-state regulation and uniform standards to the nonadmitted...
State regulators, insurer trades spar at Congressional hearing on insurer investments
Oct 9 2006 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners President and Maine Insurance Superintendent Alessandro A. Iuppa told a House Financial Services Subcommittee panel last month that strong financial regulation of...
Judge in Miss. Allows Questioning of State Farm Employees
Oct 6 2006 // A federal judge this week refused to block employees of State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. from being questioned under oath by lawyers in civil cases while they are targets of a criminal probe of the company’s handling...
Fla. Mandates Boost in Insurance Discounts for Storm Mitigation
Oct 5 2006 // Many Florida homeowners will get larger property insurance discounts — about double what they now receive — for improvements aimed at avoiding hurricane damage under a rule approved this week by Gov. Jeb Bush and the...
Bus Company, Owner Found Guilty of Safety Violations in Texas
Oct 5 2006 // A South Texas company whose bus exploded and killed 23 nursing home residents as they fled from Hurricane Rita has been convicted of failing to maintain its buses and follow inspection regulations, and conspiring to lie on...
Financial Reporting Changes Create New Challenges for Actuaries
Oct 4 2006 // New laws and increased public scrutiny are changing financial reporting requirements in the property/casualty insurance industry. Actuaries, who play key roles in that critical arena, are being asked to broaden the scope...
Second Association Joins in Fight Against Garamendi Regulations
Oct 4 2006 // The Alliance of Insurance Agents and Brokers, La Verne, Calif., is drafting a letter to the California Office of Administrative Law in support of the recent petition by IBA West over the Insurance Commissioner’s...
Pa. High Court Denies Reinstatement of Liability Award Law
Oct 2 2006 // The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected an effort by two high-ranking Republican lawmakers to revive a business-friendly law that would have altered how civil lawsuit awards are paid. In a one-sentence order released...
Hurricane Research Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate
Oct 2 2006 // U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, R-Fla., has introduced bipartisan legislation to implement a national hurricane research initiative designed to better research, predict and prepare for hurricanes. Martinez crafted the proposal...
Former Ohio Judge Must Pay Legal Fee, Court Rules
Sep 29 2006 // A former Franklin County judge must pay $587,000 in legal fees connected to her failed defense against accusations of misconduct, a federal judge ruled. Former Common Pleas Judge Deborah O’Neill, 51, owes the money...
California Anticipates Lowering Workers’ Comp Rates
Sep 29 2006 // Califiornia Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced he will likely recommend a further reduction in workers’ compensation insurance rates of at least an additional 6.3 percent. Based on pre-reform trends, the...
California Association Launches Attack on Garamendi Regulations
Sep 29 2006 // California’s Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) has launched a legal attack on what it is calling California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s attempt to illegally redefine agent and...
Optional Federal Charter Legislation Introduced in the U.S. House
Sep 28 2006 // Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), a senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today introduced legislation that would create an optional federal charter regulatory regime for life and property/casualty insurance...
Court Rules Hurt Prison Guard Not Entitled to Workers’ Comp
Sep 28 2006 // A California correctional officer who was hurt while helping at an accident while on his way to work is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal has ruled. It...
House Passes Surplus Lines Regulatory Reform Legislation
Sep 27 2006 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would apply single-state regulation and uniform standards to the nonadmitted insurance and reinsurance marketplace. H.R. 5637, The Non-Admitted and Reinsurance...
