Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Federal Judge Approves $72M Insurance Settlement with The Hartford
Jun 16 2010 // A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement under which The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. will pay $72.5 million to more than 21,000 people nationwide who alleged the insurer engaged in fraud in...
Revamp of Oklahoma Workers’ Comp System Signed by Governor
Jun 15 2010 // Legislation intended to improve the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system for injured workers was signed into law June11 by Gov. Brad Henry. The governor’s signature on the measure also reduces by one the...
Judge: Louisiana Attorney General Can Investigate BP
Jun 15 2010 // Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has been told he can go ahead with his investigation of BP, the rig explosion that’s dumping oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the company’s process for compensating...
Court Rules in Favor of Calif. State Compensation Workers
Jun 15 2010 // About 7,900 employees of California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund are entitled to back pay after a state appeals court ruled in their favor over furloughs. The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco...
Bill Would Lift North Carolina’s Oil Spill Liability Cap
Jun 14 2010 // North Carolina’s current cap for monetary damages it could receive from oil spills would be eliminated in legislation approved last week by a House committee in response to the BP disaster in the Gulf of...
Conflict Seen Between 2 Deals for 9/11 Responders
Jun 14 2010 // Thousands of 9/11 rescue and recovery workers suing New York City over their exposure to clouds of pulverized glass and cement at the World Trade Center site have to decide whether they have more faith in their lawyers or...
Global Regulators Seek Coordination for Financial Reforms
Jun 10 2010 // Global regulators cannot adopt one-size-fits-all rules and practices as they react to the financial crisis, but it is possible to have common principles, a top Japanese regulator said Wednesday. Other market watchdogs and...
Senator Eyes Prison, Compensation for Environmental Crimes
Jun 10 2010 // Reacting to BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a high-ranking U.S. senator Wednesday sought to toughen prison sentences for corporate officials who are found guilty of environmental crimes and to broaden fines for...
Let Michigan Insurance Consumers Tailor Auto Coverage
Jun 10 2010 // Imagine you live in a town where anyone who dines out is required to buy a $200 bottle of champagne with their meal. That sounds crazy, but it is essentially what is happening to insurers in Michigan, where they are...
Ohio Judge Nixes Driving Record Fee
Jun 10 2010 // A judge has struck down a higher motor vehicle fee charged to trucking and insurance companies, saying it violates Ohio’s constitution. Lawmakers last year raised the fee on certified copies of driving records from...
Judge: Stricter Regulation at Massey West Virginia Mine Not Justified
Jun 10 2010 // An administrative law judge ruled this week that there was no pattern of violations that would lead to stricter regulation at a Massey Energy Co. mine in Virginia. A Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission judge...
Florida Lawmaker: Lower Gulf Coast Property Assessments, Make BP Pay
Jun 10 2010 // Property appraisers from three Panhandle counties and a state representative say the Legislature should allow tax appraisers to lower coastal property values immediately because of the oil spill. Appraisers from Escambia,...
Pinnacol Officials Face Colo. Lawmakers
Jun 8 2010 // Officials from Colorado’s state-chartered workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance have some explaining to do. The Legislative Audit Committee recently met to go over the company’s financial...
Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Schmidt Resigns
Jun 8 2010 // J.P. Schmidt, Insurance Commissioner of the State of Hawaii, announced he be leaving his position to join the Honolulu law firm of Bays Deaver Lung Rose Holma, effective July 1. Schmidt will be practicing general business,...
Judge: Policy Didn’t Cover Chinese Drywall Damage
Jun 7 2010 // An insurance company doesn’t have to pay for damages at a Virginia man’s home ruined by Chinese-made, sulfur-emitting drywall, a decision by a federal judge Thursday that could affect how lawsuits by thousands...
Maine Court Rules City Immune in Plane Crash Suit
Jun 7 2010 // Maine’s highest court has ruled that the city of Lewiston is immune from a lawsuit in connection with a plane crash in 2006 that killed three Lewiston High School students. A superior court judge last year ruled that...
Georgia Bans Texting While Driving; Targets Teens
Jun 7 2010 // Put down the cell phone and step away from the car. Georgia drivers soon will be banned from texting, checking e-mail or using the Internet behind the wheel and teens will be prohibited from using their cell phones at all...
Trade Groups Sue New York over Pay-Disclosure Rules
Jun 7 2010 // Agents Vow to Fight Regulations Two trade groups for New York insurance agents are suing the state’s insurance regulator over new rules that will force them to reveal to clients how much they are paid for a...
Massachusetts AG Wants New Regulations for Insurers, Agents
Jun 7 2010 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is proposing new regulations that she says will rein in sales and underwriting practices for auto insurers and agents in the state. The regulations come in response to a report...
Declarations
Jun 7 2010 // Surplus Battle “It’s pretty much as outrageously unconstitutional, illegal and in-your-face as it gets.” —Kevin Fitzgerald, a lawyer for the policyholders of New Hampshire’s Joint Underwriting...
