Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Bill Aims to Reverse State High Court Ruling in Work Comp Case
Apr 17 2009 // Texas lawmakers, unhappy with a recent state Supreme Court decision in a high profile workers’ compensation case, have passed out of committee a measure its sponsors say will overturn the Court’s ruling in...
Consumer Advocates Wary of Federal Insurance Regulation Plans
Apr 16 2009 // Some of the nation’s insurance consumer advocates are wary of current proposals for federal regulation of insurance being passed around in Washington. They prefer taking their chances with an imperfect state...
Minnesota Considers Bill That Would Allow Recovery of Interest, Attorney Fees
Apr 15 2009 // Minnesota lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow for recovery of interest and attorney fees for breach of an insurance policy. If passed, SF 528 would allow “an insured who prevails in any claim against an...
Hawaii Commissioner: State Based Insurance Regulation Works
Apr 13 2009 // There’s a need for state-based insurance regulation, according to Hawaii Insurance Commissioner J. P. Schmidt. Speaking to professors and experts in finance from around the world in his keynote speech at the 16th...
Colorado Defeats Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Bill
Apr 10 2009 // Colorado lawmakers voted down SB 103, the unfair claims practices act. The legislation was killed in the House Health and Human Services Committee in a 6-5 vote. The bill, if it had passed, would have “defined as an...
Lawmakers Won’t Bail Idaho Workers’ Comp Fund Out of ‘Pickle’
Apr 10 2009 // Idaho’s Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee voted 5-4 on April 7 to kill a bill that trial lawyers insisted was aimed at scuttling their three-year-old class-action lawsuit against the Idaho State Insurance...
Pinnacol Exploring Ways to Help Colorado Budget
Apr 10 2009 // Pinnacol Assurance is exploring ways it could use its $2 billion in assets to voluntarily help the state balance its budget even as the state-created insurance company fights legislation that would hand over control of its...
Defamation Award Reviewed over Crooked Pennsylvania Judges’ Role
Apr 10 2009 // A $3.5 million defamation verdict against The Citizens’ Voice. newspaper will be reviewed because of the role in the case played by two former judges at the center of a juvenile justice scandal, the Pennsylvania...
U.S. Lawmakers Seek Ban on Tainted Chinese Drywall
Apr 10 2009 // U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D.-Fla., and Mary Landrieu, D.-La., have filed legislation for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China, as more and more people around the country are reporting problems...
Texas Senate Dems Block Insurance Department Sunset Legislation
Apr 10 2009 // Democrats in the Texas Senate have moved to block key insurance legislation as they push for more consumer protections and lower homeowner rates. Using filibuster rules, Democrats refused to allow debate on a measure...
Judge Blocks Michigan’s Challenge to Insurance Rates with Credit Scores
Apr 10 2009 // Barry County Circuit Judge James Fisher issued an injunction on Friday, April 10, preventing Michigan insurance regulators from challenging insurance companies’ home and auto insurance rate filings that use credit...
Push for Transgender Protection Grows in New England
Apr 9 2009 // For Ethan St. Pierre, allowing someone who is biologically female but self-identifies as male to use the men’s bathroom is a no-brainer. “Look at me,” said St. Pierre, who was born a woman but is now a...
Florida Lawmaker Chides Lobbyist during Committee
Apr 8 2009 // A hurricane insurance bill that would help Florida reduce its multibillion-dollar exposure in the state’s tenuous insurance market moved through a Senate committee Monday — with sparks flying. The Senate...
Wife of Convicted Pennsylvania Ex-Judge Challenges Fed Forfeiture
Apr 8 2009 // The wife of a retired Pennsylvania Superior Court judge convicted of insurance fraud is challenging efforts by federal prosecutors to seize the judge’s home. Prosecutors claim former Judge Michael Joyce bought the...
Federal Judge in Arkansas Dismisses Stranded Passenger Lawsuit
Apr 7 2009 // A federal judge in Fayetteville, Ark., has dismissed a lawsuit by an Arkansas woman that claimed she was illegally imprisoned on an American Airlines airplane for 91/2 hours in 2006. In an 18-page ruling, U.S. District...
U.S. Judge Halts Washington Mutual Fraud Lawsuit
Apr 7 2009 // A federal judge on Monday halted a consumer class-action fraud lawsuit against Washington Mutual Inc, saying it may be more appropriate for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to handle claims against the failed savings and...
Texas High Court Reaffirms Controversial Entergy Workplace Ruling
Apr 6 2009 // After agreeing to a rare rehearing, the Texas Supreme Court on April 3 upheld its decision that – despite what some lawmakers say – a “premises owner” cannot be sued by injured employees of a...
Nebraksa Rules Insurance Exclusion Applies to Liquidator
Apr 6 2009 // A regulatory exclusion in a directors and officers liability insurance policy applies to an insurance regulator acting as liquidator, according to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The ruling is believed to be the first by any...
Defending Data
Apr 6 2009 // Data Security Breaches Present Emerging Risks and Opportunities for Agents Data security represents both a new market opportunity to sell insurance coverage and a new risk – especially for independent insurance...
Judge Orders State To Rework North Carolina Beach Plan Hikes
Apr 6 2009 // A Wake County judge has ordered North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to reconsider deductible and surcharge increases for coastal homeowners in the state insurance pool called the Beach Plan. Wake County...
