Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Georgia Regulator Ignored Licensing Requirements, Judge Rules
Dec 16 2010 // A Fulton County judge has ruled that Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine disregarded application requirements when awarding small-loan licenses. Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington ruled that Oxendine was not...
Senate Passes Tax Cut Plan, 81-19
Dec 15 2010 // A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth sailed through the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The Senate passed the legislation in a...
State: Utility Not to Blame in New Hampshire Power Shutoff Death
Dec 14 2010 // State regulators said an electric utility acted appropriately when it shut off power to a woman who didn’t pay her power bill and died after an oxygen machine she needed stopped working. The state Public Utilities...
Person Leaving Keys in Car May Be Liable, Tennessee Court Rules
Dec 13 2010 // A Tennessee court has ruled that a person who leaves keys in a car can be held responsible if the car is stolen and then involved in a crash. The Tennessee Court of Appeals– in a case involving a stolen car, a police...
Obamacare Individual Mandate Found Unconstitutional by Federal Judge in Virginia
Dec 13 2010 // A U.S. judge in Virginia Monday declared a key part of President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law unconstitutional in the first major setback on an issue that will likely end up at the Supreme Court. U.S....
Judge Orders $15M to Indiana Crash Victim’s Family
Dec 10 2010 // A federal judge has awarded $15 million to the family of one of four people killed in a 2005 crash on the Indiana Toll Road caused by a truck driver. District Judge Theresa Springmann found Net Trucking of Burbank, Ill.,...
Arkansas Lawmakers Propose Banning Health Insurance Mandate
Dec 10 2010 // Legislation filed by a pair of Republican lawmakers in Arkansas proposes blocking a portion of the health care overhaul that requires people to buy health insurance. Rep.-elect David Meeks and Sen. Denny Altes propose...
Cal/OSHA Implements Updated Heat Safety Regulations
Dec 9 2010 // Cal/OSHA has implmented a new standard to protect employees who work with diacetyl, a chemical commonly used to give food flavorings a buttery taste. Cal/OSHA, a division of the California Department of Industrial...
Court: Missouri Can Lay Off Workers’ Comp Judges to Cut Costs
Dec 9 2010 // A Missouri appeals court has ruled that the state can lay off three workers’ compensation administrative law judges who challenged the state’s decision to scrap their positions as part of state budget cuts. The...
Swiss Re’s Economic Forum Sees Continued Growth, Pressure and Risks
Dec 8 2010 // Swiss Re’s Economic Forum singled out three main factors that will continue to affect the re/insurance market in 2011. The Forum’s economists forecast “continued global economic expansion in 2011, led by...
Online Database to License Surplus Lines Business Under Reform Efforts
Dec 7 2010 // One provision under new surplus lines insurance reform legislation was made easier to implement now that a national online producer database has expanded to meet the licensing needs of surplus lines brokers. The National...
Alabama Court Rules Story of Rumor with Denial Can Be Libelous
Dec 6 2010 // An Alabama appeals court has ruled that a false and defamatory published statement can be libelous even if it accurately quotes a person making the claim, includes a denial and makes clear the allegation is unverified. The...
Insurance Industry Outlook Improving, Slightly
Dec 6 2010 // The insurance industry is recovering from the economic crisis, but profits are nowhere near where they were prior to the crisis, and it will take California longer than other states to rebound, according to an industry...
P/C Insurers, Reinsurers Put Positive Spin on Federal Regulatory Role
Dec 6 2010 // The federal government’s new role in insurance regulation poses significant challenges and opportunities for the insurance industry, according to insurer trade group executives. The establishment of the Federal...
New York Agents Lose Court Battle over Compensation Disclosure
Dec 5 2010 // New York agents failed to make their case that insurance regulators cannot require agents and brokers to disclose their commissions, a Supreme Court judge has ruled. That decision by Supreme Court Justice Richard M....
Employers With Foreign Labor Face Increased Liability
Dec 5 2010 // Insurance Considerations for Agents Insuring Agricultural Employer Every state has been impacted by Arizona’s immigration law, as there is now a cry for immigration reform. Employers who hire a questionable workforce...
Texas Likely Will Seek to Protect Its Piece of SL Tax Pie
Dec 5 2010 // The federal financial services reform act signed by President Barack Obama in July 2010 contained a provision reforming the way surplus lines insurance premiums are reported and taxed. The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance...
California Self-Insured Group Declared in Default
Dec 5 2010 // The Contractors Access Program of California (CAP), a self insured group, has been declared in default due to insufficient funding required for continued operation, California’s Department of Industrial Relations...
Feds Erred in Loss Ratio Decision
Dec 5 2010 // Congress May Need to Intervene After months of discussions, the interim final rule on Medical Loss Ratios (MLRs) released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was a huge disappointment. The rule...
Missouri Lawmaker Wants State Liability for Elk
Dec 2 2010 // A Missouri lawmaker wants the state to be liable for damage caused to crops or cars by wild elk. Republican Rep. Casey Guernsey is a farmer from northwest Missouri — far away from where the Department of Conservation...
