Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Federal Judge: Mississippi AG Hood Conspired with Scruggs

Jun 16 2008 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wrongly conspired with prominent trial attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs to skirt a court order in a case involving Hurricane Katrina insurance claims, a federal judge...

State Regulators: Credit Scoring Use Needs More Study

Jun 16 2008 // State regulators recently told Congress that more study of the use of credit scoring by insurance companies is needed to determine if the practice is unfairly discriminatory. “As state regulators, it is our sincere...

Insurance Companies Face Global Warming Claims

Jun 16 2008 // Corporations Exposed to Liability for Greenhouse Gas Emissions The industry is about to enter an era of global warming insurance claims. Scientists have been warning about the impact global warming could have if greenhouse...

State Regulators Call for More Study of Credit Scoring Use in Insurance

Jun 16 2008 // State regulators told Congress that more study of credit scoring use by insurance companies is needed to determine if the practice is unfairly discriminatory. “As state regulators, it is our sincere desire that the...

California Regulator Says Insurance Needs Local Regulation, More Modernization

Jun 16 2008 // Insurance is best regulated at the local level. That’s the opinion of California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who shared his views during his welcome address to the National Association of Insurance...

Anti-Bias Laws Cover Retaliation Claims, U.S. Supreme Court Rules

Jun 16 2008 // Employees who complain of racial bias in the workplace and then face retaliation can sue under a post-Civil War-era law barring discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late May. In a second similar decision, the...

Foreign Insurers Look at Potential Acquisitions in a Weakened U.S. and E.U.

Jun 16 2008 // Asian Insurers May Buy in U.S., E.U.; Bermuda Beefs Up Regulators; Zurich Favored for Acquisition Asian insurers may go on a buying spree. A number of companies, particularly China’s major players, are likely to...

Former Judge’s Insurance Fraud Trial Moved to Pittsburgh

Jun 13 2008 // Former Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce’s insurance fraud trial is going to be held in federal court in Pittsburgh, not Erie. Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill has granted a defense request to move the...

State Insurance Regulators Lend Conditional Support to Federal Office

Jun 13 2008 // State insurance commissioners told Congress that they could live with a proposed federal office of insurance information, particularly to target international issues, provided it does not preempt state consumer and...

S&P: Volatility, Regulation Testing Global Multiline Insurers

Jun 12 2008 // Managers of global multiline insurance companies have their work cut out for them in 2008, according to analysts. The year 2008 will be one of challenge for global multiline insurers as they simultaneously try to remain...

Regulator’s Speech Highlights Market Turmoil; Advantages of UK Regime

Jun 11 2008 // In a recent address Callum McCarthy, the Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, took stock of the current regulatory regime for financial services in the UK. “The turbulence in financial markets...

N.H. Chief Justice Hopes to Open Business Court This Year

Jun 11 2008 // New Hampshire’s chief justice is praising a new law that allows the state to create a business court and he’s hoping to have the new court operating this year. The court would handle only complaints between...

Federal Judge: Mississippi Attorney General Conspired with Trial Lawyer

Jun 9 2008 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wrongly conspired with prominent trial attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs to skirt a court order in a case involving Hurricane Katrina insurance claims, a federal judge...

Nebraska High Court Rules Against Florida in 10 Year Old Case

Jun 9 2008 // A multimillion-dollar insurance dispute that’s a decade old received new life on its third trip to the Nebraska Supreme Court because the court ordered a new trial on June 6. Consequently, the state of Florida...

California Lawmakers Address Disaster Response, Automative Repair, and More

Jun 6 2008 // California lawmakers recently approved several insurance-related bills, addressing such topics as disaster response and automative repair following a crash. Following is a summary of recent legislation, as provided by the...

California Court Rules Smoker’s Claim is ‘Time Barred’

Jun 5 2008 // A U.S. District Curt in California recently ruled that a smoker’s claim against cigarette manufacturers Philip Morris USA, Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Brown & Williamson Holdings...

U.S. Lawmakers Question Regulators on Vehicle Roof Strength Rules

Jun 5 2008 // U.S. auto safety regulators Wednesday told lawmakers they need more time to develop a tougher standard for vehicle roofs to ensure that adding more weight and headroom would not cause more vehicles to roll over. Some...

House Panel to Hear Federal Insurance Office Proposal June 10

Jun 5 2008 // A House subcommittee has scheduled a hearing next week into a proposal to create a federal insurance information agency in Washington, D.C. Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa., chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital...

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Debate Use of ‘Independent Contractor’ Label

Jun 5 2008 // A bill to punish builders that avoid worker’s compensation fees and other costs by wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors was amended on the Pennsylvania House floor on Tuesday. The legislation aims...

Willis Risk Manager Conference Examines Brazil, China Energy Sector

Jun 4 2008 // Willis recently hosted a conference of senior risk managers from the US oil and gas industry at its inaugural Global Risk Challenge seminar in Houston. They concentrated on finding out more about some of the major...