Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Supreme Court Ruling Paves the Way for NAFTA
Jun 21 2004 // The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed to overturn a lower court ruling that had required the U.S. Department of Transportation to undertake an environmental impact study under the Clean Air Act before opening the...
California Court Ruling Undermines Insurance Commissioner’s Authority
Jun 21 2004 // A ruling by the California Court of Appeals undermines state regulation and the authority of the insurance commissioner by essentially declaring rate filings approved by the Department of Insurance as invalid according to...
The Value of Belonging
Jun 21 2004 // Insurance producers are a busy group, with day-to-day operations that include writing new business, servicing existing policies, taking care of employment issues, etc. Often, there is a myriad of factors—seemingly...
Veto of Vt. UIM Bill Upheld
Jun 18 2004 // Vermont House members, gathered for a brief reunion a bit less than a month after they thought they had finished for the year, voted to sustain Gov. James Douglas’ veto of a bill relating to car insurance and went...
R.I. Senate Backs Regional Health Plan
Jun 17 2004 // The Rhode Island Senate has approved legislation introduced by Sen. James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 36) of Narragansett and North Kingstown to integrate Rhode Island’s insurance rules and regulations with those of...
NAMIC Urges Regulators to Reform Personal Lines
Jun 17 2004 // The top state government affairs official for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies encouraged insurance regulators to exert leadership in their states to achieve personal lines rate modernization as the...
Tort Reform Convinces MassMutual to Re-Enter Miss. Municipal Bond Market
Jun 17 2004 // The MassMutual Financial Group, a global diversified financial services organization, announced that Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and its affiliates would re-enter the market for Mississippi municipal bonds...
Illinois DOI Folded Into New Department; Gov. Blagojevich Names Acting Director
Jun 17 2004 // The acting director of the Illinois Department of Labor has been promoted to oversee Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s consolidation of four financial and regulatory agencies, including the Department of Insurance. Blagojevich...
Flex Rating, Other Insurance Bills Pass South Carolina Session
Jun 16 2004 // The South Carolina General Assembly recently concluded the final year of a two-year session, with several significant gains for insurers and consumers, according to a report from the Property Casualty Insurers Association...
W. Va. Lawmakers Study Home Insurance Costs
Jun 16 2004 // At least one insurance company tends to charge West Virginians more to cover their homes than residents in surrounding states, even when its losses are greater in the other states, according to a presentation given to...
SERFF Use in 2004 Outpacing 2003 by Nearly 200%
Jun 15 2004 // The quantity of filings submitted through the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF) continues to multiply as an increasing number of state regulators and insurers recognize the system as a much-needed solution...
R.I. Eyes Delay in Lead Paint Regulations
Jun 14 2004 // Lead-paint regulations for thousands of old housing units take effect July 1 in Rhode Island, but real estate agents and a growing number of lawmakers say owners need more time to prepare for the changes. The legislation...
Mass. Doesn’t Know What It’s Missing In Insurance, State Official Tells Boston CPCUs
Jun 14 2004 // Massachusetts consumers and lawmakers are often unaware of the insurance advantages enjoyed in other states or the problems within their own system and need to be educated about what they are missing, according to the head...
Judge Orders N.J. Med-Mal Data Made Public
Jun 14 2004 // New Jersey patients soon will be able to use a new state Web site to obtain information about doctors, including details about malpractice claims they have settled. The release of the information cleared a legal hurdle...
NAMIC Notes ALEC Adopts Model Legislation
Jun 14 2004 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies announced that the Board of Directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has adopted model legislation prepared by the NAMIC. The bulletin noted that...
ANICO to Pay $3 Million in Additional Benefits for Policyholders Affected by Race-Based Pricing
Jun 14 2004 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor announced that Texas-based American National Insurance Company (ANICO) has agreed to provide an estimated $3.2 million to $3.5 million in additional benefits to African-American...
The Intersection of Privacy Legislation and Insurance Related Litigation
Jun 14 2004 // Privacy legislation has affected almost all consumers of goods and services in the United States. Most notably, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) passed by the federal government in November of 1999 sets forth a complex...
California Court Ruling Undermines Insurance Commissioner’s Authority
Jun 14 2004 // A ruling by the California Court of Appeals undermines state regulation and the authority of the insurance commissioner by essentially declaring rate filings approved by the Department of Insurance as invalid according to...
Mass. Lawmakers Approve Commercial Deregulation
Jun 11 2004 // The Massachusetts House and Senate have both approved legislation to deregulate insurance rates and forms for certain large commercial risks. The measure permits commercial accounts with more than $30,000 in premium that...
Miss. Gov. Barbour Begins ‘Tort Tour’
Jun 11 2004 // Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was wasting no time in telling national business leaders across the country about Mississippi’s newly-passed tort reform legislation. Gov. Barbour met this week with corporate...
