Latest Legislation Headlines

Jacobs Financial Group Acquires West Virginia Fire and Casualty Co.

Jan 3 2006 // Jacobs Financial Group Inc. has acquired all of the issued and outstanding stock of West Virginia Fire and Casualty Company (WVFCC) from The Celina Mutual Insurance Company (Celina) of Celina, Ohio. The transaction had...

NAMIC: Rate Modernization Initiatives Likely in 6 States in 2006

Jan 3 2006 // At least six states are likely to advance rate modernization initiatives this year, a legislative preview prepared by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) reveals. NAMIC Senior State Advocacy...

Routine maintenance not covered by labor law, N.Y. court rules

Jan 2 2006 // In a recent case involving millions in potential damages, the Supreme Court of the State of New York (County of Nassau) ruled that an employee who was involved in routine maintenance was not entitled to certain protections...

Workers’ comp benefits can stop at retirement age, Mont. judge rules

Jan 2 2006 // A Montana judge recently ruled that insurers don’t have to pay lifetime benefits to injured workers who are permanently disabled on the job, according to the Billings Gazette. State Fund insures more than 20,000...

IJ Exclusive: Colorado Commissioner David Rivera Has Age and Experience

Jan 2 2006 // When David Rivera was appointed Insurance Commissioner by Colorado Governor Bill Owens in April 2005, he was the youngest commissioner in the United States. Despite his age, however, Rivera already had a wealth of...

Calif. insurance commissioner announces new regulations for auto insurance rates

Jan 2 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced he is introducing new regulations that require insurers to base auto rates primarily on a driver’s record and not on ZIP code. According to the...

Jan 1 2006 // Jordan B. Lotsoff recently joined Integro as principal in the Casualty Practice Group in the Chicago office. Lotsoff, with more than 15 years experience in commercial insurance, will be responsible for complex casualty...

Routine maintenance not covered by labor law, N.Y. court rules

Jan 1 2006 // In a recent case involving millions in potential damages, the Supreme Court of the State of New York (County of Nassau) ruled that an employee who was involved in routine maintenance was not entitled to certain protections...

IJ Exclusive: Colorado Commissioner David Rivera Has Age-and Experience

Jan 1 2006 // When David Rivera was appointed Insurance Commissioner by Colorado Governor Bill Owens in April 2005, he was the youngest commissioner in the United States. Despite his age, however, Rivera already had a wealth of...

Meeting Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow’s

Jan 1 2006 // Several pressing public policy issues remain to be debated in the Gulf region and across the country. At the forefront is the question of how we, as a nation, will finance losses from future mega- catastrophes. Weather...

Calif. insurance commissioner announces new regulations for auto insurance rates

Jan 1 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced he is introducing new regulations that require insurers to base auto rates primarily on a driver’s record and not on ZIP code. According to the...

Jan 1 2006 // Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation, a Boston-based auto insurer, has appointed Matthew H. Cronin as senior marketing representative and Sean P. Farrelly as marketing representative, both in Connecticut. Cronin will...

New federal terrorism reinsurance differs from original in key

Jan 1 2006 // Right before going home for the holidays, Congress reconciled different House and Senate versions and approved an extension of the federal terrorism reinsurance program in the form of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision...

FTCR: Insurers Inflated Med-Mal Claims to Justify Rate Hikes

Dec 30 2005 // In documents filed with state regulators and in statements to public officials, medical malpractice insurance companies consistently inflated the amount they estimated they would pay out in claims, according to a study by...

Calif. Puts More Drive Into New Laws for Residents Hitting the Roads

Dec 30 2005 // New penalties for drunk drivers, street racers, and “pocket bike” riders – along with improvements to California’s teen driving requirements – are among the laws taking effect as of Sunday,...

From New England to Virginia, Courts Made Insurance Headlines in 2005

Dec 30 2005 // From Maine to Virginia, many of the insurance headlines in 2005 dealt with compensation and reinsurance probes, just as they did across the country, casting the industry’s reputation in a bad light. But much of the...

Insurers Can Use ISO Terrorism Forms Under TRIA Extension

Dec 29 2005 // Insurers can continue to use Insurance Services Office’s portfolio of terrorism insurance endorsements and related rules without any revisions under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, signed into law...

2005, a Year to Remember: Busiest Hurricane Season of the Century for United States

Dec 29 2005 // The hurricane season made 2005 a year-to-remember, with the southeast encountering the busiest hurricane season of the century, with 26 named storms and 13 hurricanes, meteorologists used up the list of 21 proper names and...

NAIC Announces New Staff in D.C.

Dec 27 2005 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently announced that two key management positions in the Association’s Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C. have been filled. New staffers Cheye Calvo...

States Balk at Automakers’ Liability Shield Under New Roof Standard

Dec 27 2005 // Twenty-six state attorneys general, concerned about a federal proposal to strengthen the roofs of motor vehicles, have urged the government to abandon language that could prevent people from suing automakers. The state...