Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
How BP’s Gulf Oil Disaster Costs Could Double
Dec 1 2010 // Analysts’ dividend forecasts point to steady recovery BP, analysts, may be underestimating legal charges BP has history of low-balling long-term cost of disasters “Gross negligence,” punitive damages not...
Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Obama Health Care Law
Dec 1 2010 // A federal judge in Virginia Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the landmark healthcare law championed by President Barack Obama, upholding key provisions that require health insurance coverage. The challenge, one of...
Insurer Wants Ex-Judge Off Mississippi Lawyer Case
Nov 30 2010 // An insurance company wants former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz kicked off a lawsuit involving imprisoned former attorney Paul Minor. Minor, meanwhile, also thinks the federal judge in the case should step...
Mississippi Judge Asks Court to Restore His Immunity
Nov 30 2010 // A Mississippi judge is asking a federal appeals court to restore his immunity from being sued over claims that he knowingly making false claims to authorities. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled arguments for...
Washington Regulator Wants to Review Health Insurer Surpluses
Nov 30 2010 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is asking state lawmakers to preserve his authority to scrutinize health insurance rates, boost transparency, and to let him — for the first time — consider some...
Judge Upholds West Virginia Mine Accident Reporting Rule
Nov 29 2010 // A Kanawha County Circuit Court judge has upheld a state law giving coal mine operators 15 minutes to tell regulators about fires and other serious accidents. Judge Tod Kaufman’s ruling came in a case involving...
