Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

ACIC DISAPPOINTED IN CALIF. SUPREME COURT ACTION:

Jul 19 2004 // The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) expressed disappointment in the decision by the California Supreme Court not to review a key case related to insurance rate regulation in the state. The Court...

PCI Tells NCOIL That Restrictions on Loss History Are Unnecessary

Jul 18 2004 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) told lawmakers during a panel discussion that efforts to limit insurers’ access to loss history information on properties are unnecessary and harmful to...

Csiszar Calls for Focus on Regulation at 12th Annual Texas P/C Symposium

Jul 16 2004 // Speaking at the12th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty Symposium presented by the Insurance Council of Texas and the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT), Ernst Csiszar, president of the National...

NCOIL Task Force Backs TRIA Extension; Market Conduct Model Next on Agenda

Jul 16 2004 // CHICAGO―A National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) task force unanimously approved a resolution to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) “for a sufficient period of time to permit...

Fla. Gov. Participates in Pensacola Meeting As Part of Discussion on HSA’s

Jul 16 2004 // Gov. Jeb Bush and Floridians for Health Care Choices hosted a town hall meeting on Thursday to provide an opportunity for federal and state healthcare experts to educate employers and employees on the benefits of Health...

WCRI: Fla. Workers’ Comp Medical Payments Per Claim Grow Due to Increasing Costs in Hospital Services

Jul 16 2004 // The average medical payment per workers’ compensation claim in Florida rose significantly in the most recent period studied, in large part due to the increasing costs of hospital services and treatments by physicians...

Industry Ethics Executive to Participate in National Conference of State Legislatures Discussion

Jul 15 2004 // Donald Walters, general counsel and deputy director of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA), will be among the speakers addressing the issue of regulatory reform in the insurance industry at the 2004...

Rhode Island’s Beacon Mutual Pursues Expansion Plan

Jul 14 2004 // Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., Rhode Island’s largest workers’ compensation insurance writer that was formed in 1990 as a state fund, is taking steps to write coverage outside of the state. The Warwick company...

China Planning Earthquake Coverage Program

Jul 14 2004 // China wants to build an insurance system in two to three years to protect against natural catastrophes, which officials estimate cause some $17 million in losses every day. China Daily reported that the Insurance...

Loss-History Data Under Scrutiny in 31 States

Jul 14 2004 // Lawmakers or insurance regulators in 31 states have questioned the practice during the past 18 months, and at least 14 states and the District of Columbia have enacted provisions dealing with use of this information,...

NCOIL to Investigate Corporate Governance Issues

Jul 13 2004 // The National Council of Insurance Legislators announced that a subcommittee will begin investigating the appropriate role of the states regarding insurer corporate governance and accountability issues at the NCOIL summer...

IIABA Testifies on Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; Says Legislation Reaffirmed State Authority

Jul 13 2004 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) testified on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee that the landmark 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) has not fundamentally...

Vermont Supreme Court Rules Intentional Sexual Harassment Not Covered Under Liability Policies

Jul 12 2004 // The Vermont Supreme Court on July 9 rejected an effort by two women to collect from insurance companies covering the home and business of a man they said sexually harassed them. Cindy Serecky and Shannon Gioia were...

Del. Lowers Drunk Driving Threshold

Jul 12 2004 // Delaware lawmakers recently agreed to join the rest of the nation by lowering the blood-alcohol threshold for drunken driving. Lawmakers voted to lower the blood-alcohol concentration considered prima facie evidence that a...

NAMIC Responds to Senate Class Action Vote

Jul 12 2004 // After the Senate failed to reach an agreement on so-called non-germane amendments that would have permitted the class action reform legislation, S. 2062, the Class Action Fairness Act, to be considered in the Senate last...

PMI Europe Receives Italian Regulatory Approval

Jul 9 2004 // The California-based PMI Group, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, PMI Mortgage Insurance Company Limited (PMI Europe), has received regulatory approval to operate an Italian branch. PMI Europe’s office...

PCI Urges NAIC to Drop Insurance Scoring “Best Practices;” Focus on Consumer Education

Jul 9 2004 // A bulletin from the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America urges the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to stop work on insurance scoring “best practices” and develop consumer education...

NAMIC Issues Policy Paper on ‘Disparate Impact’ Theory for Credit Scoring

Jul 8 2004 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies has prepared and released a bulletin attacking efforts to apply the “disparate impact” legal standard to the use of credit-based insurance scores. The...

Commentary: Farewell Reflections Continued

Jul 8 2004 // The following article is part-two of a three-part commentary written by an insurance company executive which includes an industry critique and reflection on lifelong lessons learned. For part-one see IJ National July...

La. Legislature Passes PWC Age Requirement

Jul 7 2004 // Personal watercraft operators will soon be required to be at least 16 years of age if they intend to ride in the state of Louisiana. A legislative proposal sponsored by Sen. Noble Ellington was unanimously passed in the...