Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Viewpoint: California Needs Regulatory Reform and Quick Rate Review to Halt Personal Lines Meltdown
Jun 2 2023 // The regulation of property/casualty insurance in California has been an epic failure—look no further than the state of the market for personal automobile and homeowners insurance. California Insurance Commissioner...
Texas Lawmakers Allocated $2 Billion to Increase Water Supply, Reduce Flooding
Jun 2 2023 // During this year’s legislative session, Texas lawmakers allocated part of the state’s historic $32.7 billion surplus toward better protecting the state against droughts and floods — an investment that...
Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against PG&E Energy in Fatal California Wildfire
Jun 2 2023 // A California judge dismissed all charges against Pacific Gas & Electric in connection to a 2020 fatal wildfire sparked by its equipment that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed four people, including an...
ANALYSIS – Breakup of Insurers’ Climate Coalition Driven by U.S. Regulation Fears
Jun 2 2023 // The success of Republicans in triggering the breakup of a coalition of insurance firms aimed at tackling climate change is down to U.S. states being the industry’s primary regulator, interviews with industry...
Florida Judge Slams SFR Contractor for Misrepresentation, Fraud in Tower Hill Case
May 31 2023 // SFR Services, a Florida restoration firm made famous by its volume of claims litigation and its charges that United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. had instructed desk adjusters to alter their estimates, now finds...
Purdue Pharma Can Protect Sackler Owners in Opioid Bankruptcy, Court Rules
May 30 2023 // Bankrupt Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma can shield its owners, members of the wealthy Sackler family, from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to the company’s broader bankruptcy...
Judge in Montana Case Says Fire Retardant Drops Polluting Streams But Allows Use to Continue
May 30 2023 // A judge ruled that the U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law. Halting the use of the red...
Fired Root CMO Accused of Stealing Millions Spends ‘Lavishly’; Judge Appoints Receiver
May 26 2023 // According to court records, Root Inc’s former chief marketing officer – accused of stealing about $10 million from the company – has not made court appearances, spent money in violation of court orders, and has a...
Judge Greenlights JPMorgan Lawsuit Blaming Ex-Executive in Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
May 26 2023 // A federal judge said Wednesday that he won’t block JPMorgan’s legal efforts to blame a former executive of hiding Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long sex abuse to keep the financier as a client. Judge Jed...
California Commissioner Issues Decision on Workers’ Comp Regulatory Filing
May 26 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a decision this week regarding the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s Sept. 1, 2023 regulatory filing. The Commissioner approved...
Bankruptcy Judge Rules Directors of Failed SVB Can Tap D&O Insurance
May 25 2023 // A bankruptcy judge is allowing current and former officials with the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank to tap into the $210 million in insurance coverage available through directors and officers liability policies to...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Agree on $1M Settlement Over Inmate’s Death
May 25 2023 // OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma lawmakers on Tuesday signed off on a $1.05 million settlement with the family of a state prison inmate who died of appendicitis in 2018 despite five visits to the prison’s medical...
Time Lag Does Not End Insurer’s Duty to Defend, Court Rules
May 24 2023 // A federal court in New York has reiterated that a time lag between the date a trip-and-fall accident occurred and when the conduct alleged to have caused it took place does not itself relieve an insurer of its duty to...
Judge Throws Out Shareholder Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over Twitter Buyout
May 23 2023 // A judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk that claimed he cheated Twitter shareholders several times last year in the course of buying the social media company for $44 billion. In a decision on...
Lawmakers Warn Leaky, Crumbling UK Parliament at Risk of ‘Catastrophic’ Event
May 22 2023 // Britain’s Parliament building is an architectural masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by 1 million people a year. It’s also a crumbling, leaky, asbestos-riddled structure at “real and...
Colleague’s Death Spurs Connecticut Lawmakers to Pass Wrong-Way Driver Bill
May 22 2023 // Connecticut lawmakers, shaken by the death of a colleague killed in a wrong-way crash earlier this year, unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that attempts to curtail the growing problem of wrong-way drivers. The...
N.J. Appeals Court Rules War Exclusion Doesn’t Apply to NotPetya Attack
May 22 2023 // Insurers may not use a war exclusion to deny coverage to Merck & Co. for a 2017 cyberattack blamed on the Russian military, a panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled. The panel affirmed a decision by the Union...
Alabama Judge Halts Bridge Project, Says DOT Director Had Vendetta
May 19 2023 // Driven by a “personal vendetta” against a toll bridge company, Alabama’s transportation director planned to build an unnecessary bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway at a cost of more than $100 million...
Judge Blocks New Jersey Insurance Mandate and Ban on Handguns in Certain Places
May 18 2023 // A federal judge on Tuesday blocked part of New Jersey’s new handgun carry law that barred weapons from being carried in so-called sensitive places and halted a new insurance mandate the law sought to...
Crypto Should Be Regulated as Gambling, UK Lawmakers Say
May 17 2023 // Bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies should be regulated as gambling given the significant risks they pose to consumers, a panel of UK lawmakers said in a report on Wednesday. Britain, which wants to become a global...
