Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
It’s Back to Square One in Florida Insurance Marketplace
Jul 14 2009 // In May, when Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill (SB 714) to fix a glitch in the state’s condominium insurance laws because he did not like a minor fire sprinkler provision in it, a frustrated Jeff Grady, president of...
Missouri Joins Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact
Jul 14 2009 // Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed HB 577 to have Missouri become the 36th member of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact (IIPRC). With the addition of Missouri, the current compacting states in the...
Michigan Democrats Target Insurers Over Bad Faith Claims Denials
Jul 14 2009 // Democrats in the Michigan House are pushing a dozen bills they say are needed to protect consumers from unfair claims practices by insurance companies. But insurers maintain the measures are unnecessary and will do more...
West Virginia Public Insurance Agency Faces Suit Over Subsidy Cut
Jul 14 2009 // Recent hearings may not keep West Virginia’s Public Employees Insurance Agency out of court over a proposal to stop subsidizing retiree health care, one advocate for state workers says. The American Federation of...
Missouri Court Blocks Firing of Workers’ Comp Judges
Jul 13 2009 // A Missouri judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the firing of three administrative law judges who decide workers’ compensation cases. Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration had said the dismissals were...
Wisconsin Lawmakers Mull Property Insurance Breaks for Governments
Jul 13 2009 // Some state lawmakers in Wisconsin want to give local governments a one-year break from paying their property-insurance premiums. Hundreds of cities, towns and school districts insure their property with a state fund...
Document Indicates US SEC, CFTC to Police OTC Derivatives
Jul 10 2009 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to propose on Friday giving securities and futures regulators authority to police the largely unregulated over-the-counter derivatives market, according to a document...
Lawmakers Told Montana’s Workers’ Comp Costs Too High
Jul 10 2009 // A new study given to lawmakers shows that Montana’s workers’ compensation costs are among the most expensive in the country. The National Council on Compensation Insurance report says that Montana ranked near...
Legislation to Extend National Flood Program Introduced into Congress
Jul 10 2009 // Legislation that would temporarily extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until March 31, 2010, was introduced into Congress yesterday. House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters,...
Texas Supreme Court Rules for Insured in Appraisal Clause Case
Jul 10 2009 // The Texas Supreme Court recently upheld an appeals court ruling that favors the insured in a dispute over the scope of an appraisal clause in a homeowners insurance policy. Delivering the written opinion of the Court in...
New York Eases Compensation Disclosure Mandate for Producers
Jul 10 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department this week released a new draft of a rule governing when and how insurance producers must disclose their compensation and competing quotes to customers. The latest draft appears to be...
North Carolina Lawmakers Consider Cap on Damages in Adultery Lawsuits
Jul 9 2009 // A Senate committee has backed limits to a North Carolina law that allows scorned spouses to sue and collect damages for stolen affection and adultery. A Senate judiciary committee this week recommended a bill barring...
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Proposes to Hike Some Rates, Decrease Others
Jul 9 2009 // After three years of no increases, Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is about to hike premiums up to 10 percent for many of its policyholders, although not for as many as some insurance insiders and...
Arkansas Workers’ Comp Commission Summarizes New Law
Jul 9 2009 // The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission has posted on its Web site a summary of changes to workers’ comp regulations as a result of the passage of Act 237 during the 2009 legislative session. According to...
Illinois’ McRaith Named Director of New Department of Insurance
Jul 8 2009 // Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has named Michael McRaith as the director of the newly created Department of Insurance. As a result of Governor Quinn’s Executive Order 4, the Department of Insurance (DOI) separated from...
Rhode Island Court Rules Insurer Not Obligated to Defend Nightclub Owners
Jul 8 2009 // A Rhode Island court has ruled that a commercial general liability insurance policy held by the owners of the Station nightclub does not require the insurance company to defend them against criminal charges. The case arose...
New York Delays Medical Malpractice Rates Pending Lawmakers’ Action
Jul 8 2009 // Acting New York State Insurance Superintendent Kermitt Brooks announced today that he is delaying the setting of new medical malpractice insurance rates. He said the delay is to allow time for the Senate to respond to the...
Pay Consultants Face Ban on Providing Other Work for Same Firm
Jul 8 2009 // The Obama administration plans to detail as soon as this week new measures to clamp down on potential conflicts of interest between compensation consultants and corporate executives, sources familiar with the...
California Commissioner Rejects Workers’ Comp Bureau Rate Increase
Jul 8 2009 // Citing testimony that self-insured employers have been able to reduce overall workers’ compensation costs, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has rejected the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating...
South Carolina Insurance Chief Faults Legislative Audit of Department
Jul 6 2009 // A report by the auditing arm of the South Carolina Legislature has concluded that the state insurance department overall does a good job regulating insurance companies and their rates but it could do a better job of...
