Latest Legislation Headlines

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...

Okla. Judge Denies Motion to Move Fisher Trial

Dec 27 2005 // An Oklahoma judge recently denied a motion to move the trial of former state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher out of Oklahoma City. Fisher’s attorney, Robert L. Wyatt IV, had argued in court filings that the...

AFACT Elects New Officers

Dec 27 2005 // Dianne Morris of Austin, Texas, has been elected president of the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT) for 2006-2007. Morris is president of the Association Casualty Insurance Company. She succeeds...

Calif. Insurance Commissioner Announces New Regulations for Auto Insurance Rates

Dec 23 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced that he will introduce new regulations next week that require insurers to base auto rates primarily on a driver’s record and not on ZIP code. According...

Fed Study Raises Doubts About Proposed Asbestos Trust Fund

Dec 22 2005 // In a new analysis of the $140 billion asbestos trust fund scheme included in S. 852 which was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Congressional Budget Office continues to raise doubts over whether the trust...

Me.’s Collins, Conn.’s Lieberman Push Tougher Chemical Plant Safety

Dec 22 2005 // Oil-storage tanks in South Portland and paper mills in other parts of Maine would be among the facilities subject to additional safety standards if federal legislation to be introduced this week is enacted. U.S. Sen. Susan...

NAMIC Unveils New Legislative Information Service

Dec 21 2005 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, based in Indianapolis, recently inaugurated an upgraded legislative and regulatory tracking service for its member companies. LARIS, named for the Legislative and...

Indiana Lawmaker Aims to Put Employers Who Ignore Safety in Jail

Dec 21 2005 // An Indiana state lawmaker is drafting a bill he calls “the corporate manslaughter act” which, if passed, would send employers to jail if they ignore on-the-job safety violations that lead to a serious injury or...

House Advances Liability Protection for Bird Flu Vaccine Makers

Dec 21 2005 // Drug manufacturers are a step closer to winning liability protections they say they need before they will invest in medicines to combat a bird flu epidemic. Opponents described the protections, approved Monday by the U.S....

Virginia Considers Tougher Dog Owner Liability Law After Widow’s Mauling

Dec 21 2005 // Lawmakers in Richmond are proposing tough legislation to punish Virginia dog owners whose pets injure or kill following the attack of an 82-year-old widow who was fatally mauled by three roaming pit bulls. Dorothy...

California Insurers Charge Drivers in Black, Latino Neighborhoods More, Report Indicates

Dec 20 2005 // Insurers charge good drivers living in California’s predominantly African-American and Latino zip codes substantially more for automobile insurance than good drivers in predominantly white communities, claims an...