Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Delaware Judge Dismisses Chemours Lawsuit Against DuPont
Apr 1 2020 // A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours. Vice Chancellor Sam...
Massachusetts Joins Ohio, N.J. in Proposing COVID-19 Business Interruption Bill
Mar 31 2020 // Massachusetts is one of the latest states to propose legislation that would mandate insurers cover COVID-19 related business interruption claims despite virus exclusions in many policies. This comes as Insurance Journal...
Judge Won’t Halt Salvage of Capsized Ship on Georgia Coast
Mar 31 2020 // A federal judge ruled she will not halt removal of a capsized cargo ship along the Georgia coast while a salvage company that lost the job to a competitor sues the U.S. Coast Guard. The decision by U.S. District Court...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Call for First Responder Workers’ Comp Coverage for COVID-19
Mar 30 2020 // A group of Republican lawmakers from the Oklahoma House of Representatives are asking the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), CompSource Oklahoma and self-funded municipalities to...
P/C Insurers Put a Price Tag on Uncovered Coronavirus Business Interruption Losses
Mar 30 2020 // The property/casualty industry estimates that business interruption losses from the coronavirus just for small businesses in the U.S. could be between $220-$383 billion per month — or a quarter to half of the total...
Judge Declines to Dismiss Class-Action Suit Against New Hampshire Gun Manufacturer
Mar 27 2020 // A judge has denied a motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against New Hampshire based gun manufacturer SIG Sauer. Judge Joseph Laplante found Monday that Derick Ortiz, who filed the lawsuit in September, had adequately...
New York Court Rules Gig Drivers Are Employees Eligible for Unemployment Benefits
Mar 27 2020 // Drivers for the online food delivery service Postmates Inc. are employees who are eligible for state unemployment insurance, New York’s top court has ruled. The ruling upsets the “gig” business model of...
Oil Industry Seeks Easing of Environmental Regulation During Pandemic
Mar 26 2020 // The Environmental Protection Agency said this week that it’s reviewing a request from the oil and gas industry to ease enforcement of hazardous air and water pollution and other regulatory issues during the...
How Policy Silence on Pandemics May Bedevil Insurers on Coronavirus Claims
Mar 26 2020 // Silence may be deadly for property/casualty insurers writing commercial insurance, an executive of an insurtech that specializes in analyzing insurance policy language suggested recently, explaining that without specific...
How East Insurance Regulators Are Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Mar 25 2020 // As insurers continue to monitor the spread and impact of COVID-19, insurance regulators across the East region of the U.S. are issuing guidance on how the industry can respond. “There is almost no aspect of the...
What State Insurance Regulators Have Asked of P/C Insurers to Address Coronavirus
Mar 25 2020 // As state insurance regulators monitor and respond to the coronavirus impact on insurance, property/casualty insurers are calling on them to coordinate their requests for data and ease up on some requirements. David A....
Ban on Holding Cellphone While Driving Begins July 1 in Indiana
Mar 23 2020 // Drivers will be banned from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads starting in July under legislation Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law to combat distracted driving. Holcomb signed the measure on March 18, making...
Wisconsin High Court Rules Against Farm Over Pay for Time Workers Spend Dressing
Mar 23 2020 // Workers can’t negotiate away their right to compensation for time spent donning and removing protective gear, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a long-running legal battle between a Jefferson County farm and its...
Nicolopoulos Confirmed as New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner
Mar 23 2020 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department has announced that Chris Nicolopoulos was confirmed by the New Hampshire Executive Council as insurance commissioner succeeding John Elias, who resigned in December less than two...
Lighthouse to Acquire Prepared Insurance of Florida
Mar 23 2020 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. plans to acquire its sister carrier, Prepared Insurance Company (Prepared), from Prepared Holdings Group. Lighthouse is a Louisiana-domiciled property and casualty insurance carrier...
Pressure Builds on Insurers to Be Part of Coronavirus Business Solution
Mar 20 2020 // While legislators in Washington and states try to fashion financial relief for businesses interrupted by the public health actions related to coronavirus, outside pressure is mounting on private property/casualty...
Insurers Reject House Members’ Request to Cover Uninsured COVID Business Losses
Mar 20 2020 // A bipartisan group of U.S. House members has asked insurers to retroactively recognize financial losses relating to COVID-19 under commercial business interruption coverage for policyholders. Eighteen House members made...
Southeast Insurance Regulators Issue Industry Guidance for Coronavirus Outbreak
Mar 20 2020 // Insurance departments across the Southeast are notifying industry representatives of updated procedures and expectations in response to the coronavirus outbreak, while also acknowledging the potential for a serious impact...
Judge Warns of Jury Harassment, Intimidation in N.C. Insurance Bribery Case
Mar 20 2020 // A federal judge on Wednesday ordered two men convicted of trying to bribe a North Carolina insurance regulator not to contact jurors from their recently completed trial after learning a consultant attempted to do so on...
Analyst Says Specialty P/C Insurers More Likely to See Business Interruption Losses
Mar 19 2020 // The original property/casualty insurance industry reaction that business interruption losses may be modest may have been too optimistic, according to a leading insurance analyst. KBW’s Meyer Shields believes that the...
