Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Jersey Gov. Adds $10M to State’s Lead Cleanup Efforts
Apr 7 2016 // New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he’s adding $10 million to New Jersey’s efforts this year to remove lead-based paint from homes around the state. The money would offer up to $20,000 per unit...
Missouri Bill Requiring Rideshare Vehicle Insurance Advances
Apr 6 2016 // The Missouri House has advanced legislation that would impose statewide regulations on app-based ride-hailing services, a move companies Uber and Lyft support. House members voted 113-38 to give initial approval to a bill...
Maine Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Blood Test Bill for Drivers
Apr 6 2016 // A Maine bill that would allow a blood test to determine whether a driver is impaired from marijuana use is heading to defeat. The Maine House on April 1 voted unanimously to reject the bill, which set a blood level limit...
Judge Dismisses Birth Defect Warning Claims Against Pfizer’s Zoloft
Apr 6 2016 // A federal judge in Philadelphia granted Pfizer Inc.’s request to dismiss more than 300 lawsuits attempting to link the antidepressant Zoloft to heart defects in newborns. Pfizer was accused in lawsuits filed by...
Final Retirement Advisor Rule Reflects Some Changes Sought by Industry
Apr 6 2016 // U.S. brokers managing retirement accounts must adhere to tough new standards under an Obama administration rule released Wednesday that aims to protect millions of savers from conflicted investment advice. The Labor...
Anbang Insurance to Acquire Allianz’s South Korea Operations
Apr 6 2016 // Anbang Insurance Group Co., which walked away from a bid to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. last week, has agreed to buy Allianz SE’s operations in South Korea. The Chinese insurer will purchase...
Florida Approves Removal of up to 19K Policies from Citizens
Apr 6 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved the removal of up to 19,535 personal residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) for the June 21, 2016 take-out period. The...
Maryland’s Chesapeake Employers to Begin Phasing in NCCI Rates in 2020
Apr 5 2016 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company, Maryland’s largest writer of workers’ compensation insurance, announced its plan to phase in the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) rating...
Florida Approves Anthem Bid to Acquire Cigna’s Florida-based Affiliates
Apr 5 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has issued a Consent Order (see below) approving, with additional requirements, Anthem, Inc.’s (Anthem) application to acquire 100 percent of the issued and...
California Judge Rules in Favor of Lumber Liquidators in Prop. 65 Case
Apr 5 2016 // Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. won a tentative ruling dismissing claims that it failed to adequately warn consumers about cancer-causing formaldehyde found in some of its laminate flooring. Monday’s decision is a...
Regulatory SOS: Leveraging Change to Succeed in the Flood Space
Apr 5 2016 // John Dickson, President of NFS Edge Insurance Agency, Inc. April 5, 2016- Change isn’t always easy. If you’re an insurance agent or WYO facing the April 1, 2016, regulatory changes to the National Flood...
Utah Judge Limits Suit over Drunken Attack at Ski Resort’s Oktoberfest
Apr 4 2016 // A Utah judge in late-March tossed out part of a lawsuit filed by a family who says they were beaten by drunken revelers at a ski resort’s Oktoberfest celebration because the event has turned into a booze-fueled Rocky...
Massachusetts Court Rules on ‘Equitable Contribution’ Case
Apr 4 2016 // Massachusetts’ top court ruled in March that a workers’ compensation insurer that has paid benefits has a right to pursue “equitable contribution” from a second insurer that also provided coverage...
Florida’s Citizens Pushes Policy Changes to Address Rising Water Loss Claims
Apr 4 2016 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors approved recommendations last month aimed at reducing the impact of what it calls skyrocketing water-loss claims that could reverse progress made in returning...
Uncertainties Outweigh Growth Benefits When P/C Insurers Take On Too Much Cyber Risk, Rating Agency Warns
Apr 4 2016 // If they are not careful, property/casualty insurers could jeopardize their credit ratings with their expansion into standalone cyber insurance, a rating agency has warned. Cyber attacks pose dangerous risks and uncertainty...
Illinois Lawmaker: ‘Uninsured’ State-Owned Vehicles Should Come Off Road
Apr 3 2016 // A state lawmaker says Illinois should pull state-owned vehicles off the road during its budget stalemate unless money is appropriated to self-insure them. Republican state Rep. Bill Mitchell of Forysth says one of his...
Maine Bill Seeks Strong Limits on Opioid Prescriptions
Apr 1 2016 // The Maine Legislature is poised to pass a bill sponsored by Gov. Paul LePage that would put the state on the front line of a national movement to monitor and restrict opioid painkillers. The Republican’s bill would...
Judge Cuts N.Y. Financier’s Damages Judgment in Harassment Case
Apr 1 2016 // A federal judge on Thursday reduced by more than two-thirds the maximum sum a Swedish woman can recover after having prevailed in a jury trial against a New York financier she accused of sexual harassment and...
Lloyd’s Seeks to Open Reinsurance Branch in Mumbai, India
Apr 1 2016 // Lloyd’s announced it intends to file an application to open a reinsurance branch in Mumbai, following the publication of regulations governing the Lloyd’s market earlier this week by the Insurance Regulatory...
Climate Change Easy Bet to Be Hot Topic at Insurance Regulators’ Meeting
Mar 31 2016 // Mark down the Climate Change and Global Warming Working Group as the odds-on favorite committee to produce the most interesting chatter during the National Association of Insurance Commissioners meeting next week in The...
