Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Marsh Study: UK Real Estate Firms Must Manage Risk More Effectively
Jul 20 2009 // A new report by Marsh has found that some UK real estate firms are failing to address the strategic risks facing their organizations, leaving them more vulnerable to the vagaries of market conditions and in a weaker...
Travelers Insurance Urges Regional Zones, Federal Role for Wind Coverage
Jul 20 2009 // One of the nation’s largest insurers has unveiled a plan to shift the authority for regulating rates for hurricane wind coverage from state regulators to an independent federal commission. Mississippi Gov. Haley...
Oklahoma Lawmakers to Study Workers’ Comp Reform Proposals
Jul 20 2009 // Workers’ compensation reform proposals will be subjected to legislative scrutiny through an Oklahoma House of Representatives study requested by state Rep. Mark McCullough, among others. McCullough, who has authored...
Credit Default Swaps Should Be Regulated as Insurance
Jul 20 2009 // Turmoil Could Have Been Avoided if Treated the Same as Insurance Markets Credit default swaps nearly brought down the world financial system last fall when it was discovered that AIG Financial Products had written hundreds...
California Closer to Allowing Mileage-Based Auto Insurance
Jul 20 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has issued proposed regulations for Pay-Drive (Usage Based Auto Insurance). According to the Commissioner, “Insurers frequently rely on consumers to provide their own...
State Farm Lloyds Seeks Homeowners Rate Increase in Texas
Jul 16 2009 // State Farm Lloyds has submitted a rate filing to the Texas Department of Insurance to increase its homeowner’s insurance rates in Texas by a statewide average of 8.5 percent, beginning Oct. 1 for existing customers...
Tennessee Medical Fee Schedule Cuts Workers’ Compensation Costs: Study
Jul 16 2009 // The implementation of a medical fee schedule in Tennessee after reforms passed in 2004 has helped save employers $1,300 per workers’ compensation case, according to a study by a research group. The study by he...
State Farm Florida Withdrawal Plan May Go To Judge
Jul 15 2009 // After months of trying, Florida state officials and State Farm Florida have been unable to agree on the details of the insurer’s plan for withdrawing from the state, so steps have been taken to have an administrative...
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...
