Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ark. Gov. Signs Rules to Enforce Smoking Ban Beginning Aug. 10
Aug 2 2006 // Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has signed rules to enforce a statewide workplace smoking ban and said he believes most businesses in the state will view clean air as a smart business choice. “Breathe easy,...
Texas Workers’ Comp Conference to Focus on Reform Legislation
Aug 2 2006 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) will host its 2006 Workers’ Compensation Conference in Austin on Sept. 20 at the Hyatt Regency. Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Albert Betts will be the conference...
Western Agents Blast Insurers for Settlements Restricting Compensation
Aug 2 2006 // The Western Insurance Agents Association has issued a statement saying the settlement that St. Paul Travelers has just reached with attorneys general from Connecticut, Illinois, and New York is the latest attempt by an...
House Bill Would Establish National Disaster Commission
Jul 31 2006 // Legislation that would establish a bipartisan national commission tasked with recommending policies to help the federal government prepare for and manage disaster response has been introduced in the House of...
Wal-Mart Type Banks Put on Hold
Jul 30 2006 // Federal bank regulators have halted for six months any new approvals of the sort of industrial banks that Wal-Mart, Home Depot and 12 other companies are seeking to own. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. imposed the...
Ethics Panel Hits Fla.’s Gallagher Over Insurer Stock Holdings
Jul 30 2006 // The ethics commission determined last Friday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher may have violated ethics laws because he owned stock in two insurance companies while regulating the industry. The...
NAMIC Announces Reorganization of Government Affairs Operation
Jul 28 2006 // Indianapolis-based the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) recently announced a major reorganization of its governmental affairs operation, recognizing the convergence of issues facing the...
House Committee Advances Surplus Lines Regulatory Reform
Jul 27 2006 // The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation that would apply single-state regulation and uniform standards to the nonadmitted insurance and reinsurance marketplace. Chairman Michael G. Oxley (Ohio)...
Ind. Judge Okays Settlement to Church Group, Insurer
Jul 26 2006 // A group helping rebuild the Church of God’s financial arm is to pay at least $4 million to investors who lost many millions more when their money was put in risky real estate deals rather than toward building...
Agents Again Urge Passage of Surplus Lines Reform Legislation
Jul 25 2006 // As the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006 (HR 5637) makes its way to full committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services, the American Association of Managing General Agents sent a call to...
Optional Federal Charter ‘Legislation of the Worst Kind,’ Says PIA Exec
Jul 25 2006 // The National Insurance Act of 2006 would undermine key insurance consumer protections, constrict the availability of insurance, create market instability and prompt a flood of litigation, according to Leonard C. Brevik,...
Calif. Supreme Court Rules Prop 64 Applies to Pending Cases
Jul 25 2006 // The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) in Sacramento applauded the California Supreme Court for applying Proposition 64 to lawsuits that were pending when the initiative overwhelmingly passed in November...
Editor’s Note: Exemption protection
Jul 24 2006 // The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last month received testimony on whether to continue the insurance antitrust exemption contained in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act. This law placed responsibility for insurance...
News Briefs
Jul 24 2006 // Virginia targets dogs, underage drinking Owners of dangerous dogs face tougher penalties and adults who serve booze to underage guests are targeted under new state laws that took effect July 1 in Virginia. The dog-mauling...
Exemption protection
Jul 24 2006 // The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last month received testimony on whether to continue the insurance antitrust exemption contained in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act. The law placed responsibility for insurance regulation...
Why surplus lines reform makes sense in 2006
Jul 24 2006 // The AAMGA is an international trade association comprised of 503 member agents, brokers, insurance, captive and reinsurance companies, Lloyd’s of London syndicates and underwriters, state stamping and surplus line...
SAFECO CHANGES TOP PERSONNEL
Jul 24 2006 // Safeco President and CEO Paula Reynolds announced executive changes made to accelerate the company’s progress toward becoming a low-cost insurance provider with distinctive products and services. Mike Hughes was...
California agency approves change in auto insurance law
Jul 24 2006 // A state administrative office approved changes to California’s insurance law, clearing the way for regulations that will force insurers to base premiums on drivers’ records instead of their address. The action...
Auto Club of SoCal reduced rates take effect in December
Jul 24 2006 // California’s fourth-largest provider of auto insurance has agreed to base its rates on safety and driving frequency rather than primarily on where a driver lives. The plan, to take effect Dec. 1, would cut some $133...
Csiszar tells agents major shift essential to entice carriers to Florida
Jul 24 2006 // Insurers look at Florida’s government as a heavy-handed, intrusive, oppressive regulatory regime that does more harm than good to property insurance markets. According to Ernie Csiszar, president and CEO of the...
