Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
What the 2008 Election Means for Independent Agents
Nov 30 2008 // With incoming President-elect Barack Obama and major increases in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, the Democrats will now control both chambers of Congress and the White House. The changing of the...
Environmental Liability: What’s Good Today, Could Be Bad Tomorrow
Nov 30 2008 // Environmental Insurance Delivers the Best Shield of Defense Against Emerging Pollutants The changing character of environmental regulation fits any definition of a moving target. Since the Environmental Protection Agency...
Lloyd’s Expects U.S. To Adopt Federal Regulation of Insurance
Nov 30 2008 // Pushed by the global economic crisis, the United States is expected to embrace federal regulation of the insurance industry as early as 2009, according to some financial and insurance executives. Federal regulation —...
Steady Habits Make for a Stable Market
Nov 30 2008 // Regulator Says Nutmeg State Will Take AIG and Catastrophe Problems in Stride Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan considers himself something of an insider when it comes to the insurance industry –...
Ex-Pennsylvania Judge Found Guilty of Insurance Fraud
Nov 30 2008 // A retired Pennsylvania appellate judge was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering after prosecutors said he lied about neck and back injuries in a fender bender to collect $440,000 from two insurance...
OECD Says Changes Needed in US, EU Market Supervision
Nov 25 2008 // Overhauls of U.S. market supervision and European policy coordination are needed to plug regulatory gaps highlighted by the market crisis, the OECD said in its latest economic outlook. Initially billed as a first step to...
Thumbs Down on Late Malpractice Suit, West Virigina Court Rules
Nov 25 2008 // The West Virginia Supreme Court says a man who found a piece of scalpel in his thumb can’t press his claim because he waited too long to file his lawsuit. In a 4-1 ruling, the high court said Paul and Melissa Forshey...
Iowa Supreme Court Rules on Case of Woman with Cancer Diagnosis
Nov 24 2008 // The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling on Nov. 21 that sends the case of a woman who sued her doctors for failing to diagnose breast cancer back to a lower court for more proceedings. In her lawsuit filed in Scott County...
Illinois Lawmakers Pass Autism Law; Only Six States Require Coverage
Nov 24 2008 // Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is expected to sign a bill requiring insurers to cover autism treatment up to $36,000 a year until a patient turns 21. An estimated 4,500 Illinois families would benefit from the coverage....
Fire Officials Worry About Homemade Bodiesel
Nov 24 2008 // As the price of fuel increased in recent months, Arizona authorities are wondering about hte potential toxicity of homemade biodiesel. Phoenix fire officials say it’s part of a trend of area residents using chemicals...
Ex-Pennsylvania Judge Found Guilty of Insurance Fraud
Nov 21 2008 // A retired Pennsylvania appellate judge was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering after prosecutors said he lied about neck and back injuries in a fender bender to collect $440,000 from two insurance...
Massachusetts AG Wants Hearing on Insurance Company’s Auto Rates
Nov 21 2008 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked the Division of Insurance to initiate an administrative rate proceeding to review the new auto insurance rates of Premier Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Travelers...
Ohio Director Says No to Federal Oversight, No to National Cat Plan
Nov 20 2008 // A public servant, attorney and community leader, Mary Jo Hudson officially took office as the 46th director of the Ohio Department of Insurance on Jan. 8, 2007. Just coming up on two years in office, Hudson speaks her mind...
Ohio Judge Sides With Challenge on Workers’ Comp
Nov 20 2008 // An Ohio judge on Nov. 18 blocked the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation from setting job-injury insurance rates while a lawsuit brought by several business owners moves forward. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge...
Massachusetts Extends Deadline for Businesses to Encrypt Data
Nov 19 2008 // The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has extended by at least four months a deadline for businesses to electronically encrypt digital records of their customers’ personal information. The new regulations – which...
Lloyd’s Expects U.S. To Adopt Federal Regulation of Insurance
Nov 19 2008 // Pushed by the global economic crisis, the United States is expected to embrace federal regulation of the insurance industry as early as 2009, according to some financial and insurance executives. Federal regulation in the...
Wisconsin Emergency Plan Calls for Secret Succession List
Nov 19 2008 // Wisconsin lawmakers would submit secret lists of emergency successors under a bill a state disaster committee adopted Wednesday. The Legislative Council Special Committee on Emergency Management and Continuity of...
Judge Throws Out ‘Bad Faith’ Claim Against Texas Mutual
Nov 19 2008 // A judge in Guadalupe County, Texas, has dismissed a case alleging that Texas Mutual Insurance Company acted in “bad faith” in a workers’ compensation case involving a pre-existing medical condition. Texas...
Michigan Consumer Advocate Hosts Final Public Hearing in Detroit
Nov 18 2008 // Michigan’s Automobile and Home Insurance Consumer Advocate Melvin Butch Hollowell held the final public hearing in Detroit on Saturday, Nov. 15 to hear from consumers and industry experts about the affordability of...
Treasurer Paulson Defends Actions; Says There’s ‘No Playbook’ for Crisis
Nov 18 2008 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. told members of the House Committee on Financial Services that there is “no playbook” for dealing with the current financial crisis and defended the...
