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Dec 18 2005 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley announced that Clarissa A. Preston has been named deputy commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance Office of Property and Casualty, and Scott Kipper is now deputy...

Meeting Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow’s

Dec 18 2005 // 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...

Dec 18 2005 // Insurers Challenge “Underground Regulations” Insurance companies have filed a lawsuit against California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, challenging what they called “underground regulations”...

Federal Law Puts Brakes on Vicarious Liability for Auto Rental Firms

Dec 18 2005 // A New York court’s $21 million award last month to a young Wall Street trader paralyzed in an accident involving a Budget Rent-a-Car vehicle may be one of the last of its kind. Inserted among the thousands of road...

Wisconsin Governor Doyle Vetoes Med-Mal Cap Legislation

Dec 18 2005 // Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed legislation that would have capped the amount of money medical malpractice victims could win in court for their pain and suffering, an issue that has been a political flash point across the...

Meeting Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow’s

Dec 18 2005 // Weather forecasters predicted that the 2005 hurricane season could be more active than normal, but no one thought it would produce 26 named storms and the most destructive storm on record-Hurricane Katrina. Katrina tested...

News Briefs

Dec 18 2005 // Massachusetts Auto Producer Reassignments Delayed: Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has asked that a plan for reassignment of auto insurance producers doing business with the state’s residual...

Why Mass. Should Keep Its Current Auto System with State-Set Rates

Dec 18 2005 // I agree with Gov. Romney that improving road designs, dangerous intersections and combating fraud will go a long way to lowering automobile insurance rates in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. But I disagree with his...

News Briefs

Dec 18 2005 // FLORIDA State Farm of Florida 8.6 Percent Rate Request Approved The Florida Department of Insurance approved an average statewide premium rate hike of 8.6 percent for State Farm of Florida, the largest insurer of homes in...

Calif. Governor Picks Insurance Industry Lobbyist for Deputy Chief of Staff

Dec 15 2005 // California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen an insurance industry lobbyist to be his deputy chief of staff and senior advisor for policy development, a new position.Starting at the new year, Dan Dunmoyer will...

Insurers Reject Alternate SOX Proposal

Dec 8 2005 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) announced it will oppose an amended regulator proposal to add federally-styled internal control measures to state insurance regulation, according to its...

Insurers Urge Regulatory Modernization, Study of Cat Risk

Dec 8 2005 // In a speechbefore the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) States & Nation Policy Summit, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America President and CEO Ernst Csiszar urged state legislators...

House Floor Vote on Terrorism Insurance Expected Today

Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that would extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop through 2007 is likely to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon. TRIA, passed a year after the attacks of Sept. 11,...

Pa. Senate Votes to Revive ‘Fair Share’ Lawsuit Reform Act

Dec 7 2005 // The Pennsylvania state Senate has voted to restore the “Fair Share Act” lawsuit reform in a 32-18 vote. State Sen. Jake Corman (R-34), the bill’s author, said that Senate Bill 435 brings Pennsylvania in...

House of Representatives Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill

Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that will extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for an additional two years passed on the House of Representatives floor today. The House bill (S. 467) passed by a vote of 371 to 49. The Senate already...

Catholic Church in Pa. Fights Change to Allow New Sex Abuse Suits

Dec 6 2005 // Roman Catholic Church officials in Pennsylvania say a proposal that would allow sexual-abuse victims from decades ago to file lawsuits could lead to financial ruin for dioceses across the state. Some Harrisburg lawmakers...

NAMIC: Study on Cost Impact of N.J. Court Ruling Shows Legislation Need

Dec 6 2005 // A new actuarial study concluding that a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling will substantially increase costs for drivers that choose no fault coverage shows there is a significant need for legislation to correct the decision,...

Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Med-Mal Award Cap Legislation

Dec 5 2005 // Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed legislation that would have capped the amount of money medical malpractice victims could win in court for their pain and suffering, an issue that has been a political flash point in states across the...

Judge Allows N.Y. City’s Suit Against Gun Industry to Proceed

Dec 5 2005 // Federal District Court Judge Jack Weinstein on Dec. 2 ruled that New York City’s landmark lawsuit against the gun industry can proceed, despite a federal law that limits the legal liability of gun manufacturers and...

Minn. High Court Rules Drunken Passenger Doesn’t Justify Search

Dec 5 2005 // The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a police officer wasn’t justified in searching the vehicle of a Winona woman because the passenger in her car was drunk. “To allow a vehicle search solely because an...