Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Michigan High Court to Reconsider Auto Accident Victims’ Right to Sue
Aug 24 2009 // The Michigan Supreme Court has set the stage for reversing a 2004 precedent that restricts when people injured in auto accidents can sue for pain and suffering. In a 4-3 order, the court decided to reconsider the case of...
States Give ‘Thumbs Up’ to Fingerprinting Insurance Producers
Aug 21 2009 // Don’t be alarmed, but there are convicted criminals roaming around the country acting as insurance producers. They could be drunk drivers, robbers, forgers, possibly even rapists. They got their producer licenses in...
Health Care Firms Must Notify Individuals If Data Is Breached
Aug 20 2009 // The federal government has issued new regulations requiring health care providers and health plans to notify individuals when their health information is breached. The rules, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and...
Pennsylvania Commissioner Meets with Agents’ Group
Aug 19 2009 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario met with yesterday with directors of the Insurance Agents & Brokers Service Group board of directors to discuss a number of key insurance issues in the Keystone State. Of...
Michigan Insurers Balk As Democrats Advance ‘Bad Faith’ Legislation
Aug 19 2009 // Michigan insurance companies say that so-called “bad faith” bills approved by the House Insurance Committee today are unnecessary and will open the floodgates for lawsuits against them, eventually costing...
‘Top Cop’ SEC Newly Aggressive in Attack on Wall Street Fraud
Aug 18 2009 // Wall Street’s top cop has a lot to prove and it’s been taking no prisoners. After enduring a thorough thrashing for its supervision of the now-defunct Bear Stearns and missing Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion...
Michigan Halts Novus Surplus Lines Insurance; Owner Defends Company
Aug 18 2009 // Michigan regulatory officials have charged an insurer and its managing general agency with fraud in the selling of surplus lines insurance. But the owner of the company that is is runoff says it did nothing wrong. The...
Indiana Attorney General: New Law Protects Teachers from Lawsuits
Aug 18 2009 // Indiana teachers will be shielded from frivolous lawsuits filed over student-discipline disputes under the state’s new teacher-protection law being fully implemented in August, the Indiana Attorney General’s...
Michigan Halts Novus Surplus Lines Sales; Owner Defends Insurer
Aug 18 2009 // Michigan regulatory officials have charged an insurer and its managing general agency with fraud in the selling of surplus lines insurance. But the owner says his company that is in runoff has done nothing wrong. The...
Colorado Workers’ Compensation Insurer Pinnacol Defends Agent Perks
Aug 17 2009 // Colorado’s dominant workers compensation insurer last week defended its spending on travel and entertainment for its agents, telling Colorado lawmakers it’s good for morale and helps lower costs in the long...
New Louisiana Traffic Laws Aim for Seatbelt Use, Bicyclist Protection
Aug 17 2009 // Back seat passengers will have to buckle up, drivers will need to give a wider berth to bicyclists and slow-driving sightseers will need to stick to the right lane on Louisiana’s highways under the new state traffic...
Mississippi Commissioner Offers Alabama Advice on Coastal Insurance
Aug 14 2009 // The keys to holding down insurance premiums on the Alabama coast are strong enforcement of building codes, proper land use and mitigating homes against future disasters, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told...
Judge OKs $60M Lawsuit against Anna Nicole Smith Book Author
Aug 14 2009 // A New York judge says a jury can decide whether an author who wrote a best-selling book about Anna Nicole Smith’s death defamed her lawyer and companion. Federal Judge Denny Chin found plenty of reasons on Wednesday...
Federal Judge Dismisses Agents’ Lawsuit Against Brooke Corp.
Aug 14 2009 // A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing bankrupt Brooke Corp. and its financing arm of racketeering and fraud, saying the claims are not specific enough. Scores of insurance agents sued Overland Park, Kan.-based...
Florida Insurance Agents Say State’s Home Mitigation Effort Is Failing
Aug 13 2009 // Florida’s efforts to encourage homeowners to harden their homes to better withstand big storms by giving them insurance premium discounts is not getting the job done, according to a report from insurance agents in...
White House Seeks New Reins on Derivatives
Aug 13 2009 // The Obama administration this week sent Congress legislation seeking to impose broad new oversight on derivatives, the complex financial instruments blamed for hastening the global economic crisis. The plan is designed to...
Insurers in Crosshairs of U.S. Health Care Reformers
Aug 11 2009 // The debate over reforming the U.S. health care system has zeroed in on one main target: insurance companies. Democrats and the Obama administration plan to spend August battling to win popular support to expand health care...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Launch Study to Privatize Work Comp Insurer
Aug 7 2009 // A legislative task force has begun a study on how best to privatize CompSource Oklahoma, the agency that provides workers’ compensation insurance in the state. Members of a nine-member task force convened Aug 6. The...
Colorado Committee Evaluates State’s Workers’ Comp Insurer Pinnacol
Aug 5 2009 // A special committee of Colorado lawmakers is evaluating Pinnacol Assurance, to examine what role the state should have in managing the quasi-governmental workers’ compensation insurer’s business. Ken Ross,...
Regulatory Reform, Rewards for Quality Insurers Ahead, Says Chubb Exec
Aug 5 2009 // Skepticism over the financial condition of insurance companies is healthy and financially strong insurers stand to gain over weaker competitors in today’s market, an executive for a major property/casualty insurer...
