Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
The World According to TRIPRA
Jan 13 2008 // Passage of federal terrorism insurance extension buys another seven years for industry to find a long-term solution Many in the insurance industry breathed a cool sigh of relief when just five days before the Terrorism...
N.Y. Judge Rules Evidence in Celebrex Case Unreliable
Jan 11 2008 // A New York court has ruled that plaintiffs suing Pfizer Inc. over its pain medication Celebrex do not have reliable scientific evidence to prove the drug can cause heart attacks and strokes at the 200-milligram dose, the...
Maine Lawmaker Wants Mandatory Boat Safety Class
Jan 11 2008 // A Maine lawmaker says the state has the highest boating fatality rate in New England, and he wants to do something about it. Rep. Thom Watson of Bath is proposing mandatory, one-time boating safety courses after a year in...
Judge Sanctions Texas Mutual, Company Will Appeal Decision
Jan 11 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company says it respectfully but strongly disagrees with the sanctions against it ordered by Dallas Judge Martin Hoffman on Jan. 9, 2008, in the case of Texas Mutual v. Juan Narvaez. The company says...
Erie Insurance Says It Handled Former Judge’s Claim Correctly
Jan 8 2008 // Erie Insurance Group says an internal investigation shows the company properly handled a claim by former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce. Joyce has been indicted on charges he bilked Erie Insurance and...
Texas Performance-Based Oversight Incentive Rule Established
Jan 8 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation reported that Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts signed a rule establishing incentives for performance-based oversight for...
West Virginia Lawmakers Urged to Ignore Asbestos Proposal
Jan 8 2008 // A leading expert on the way West Virginia’s courts handle asbestos claims urged legislators Sunday to avoid proposed changes to the system. “Not only is it a mistake, it would be unnecessary,” retired...
W. Va. Lawmakers Resume Move Toward Oversight of Workers’ Comp
Jan 8 2008 // West Virginia’s insurance commissioner still objects, but lawmakers continue to pursue some role overseeing the privatization of the workers’ compensation system. A joint Judiciary Committee panel voted Sunday...
Delays Plaque Ill. Studies of Hospital Safety; Obama Champion of Law
Jan 7 2008 // When state lawmakers passed two pioneering laws aimed at providing hospital safety information to patients, health care experts said Illinois was a national model. Four years and many missed deadlines later, that’s...
Lloyd’s Becomes Chile’s First ‘Approved Foreign Insurer’
Jan 7 2008 // Lloyd’s announced that it has become the first foreign entity to take advantage of a recent regulatory change in Chile’s insurance practice. Following the signing of a Free Trade Agreement in 2007...
Judge Dismisses Bid to Throw Out $2.4B R.I. Lead Paint Cleanup Plan
Jan 7 2008 // A judge last Friday refused to strike down a proposal from the state that calls for three former lead paint manufacturers to pay an estimated $2.4 billion to clean up roughly a quarter-million homes in Rhode Island. The...
Judge Rules Vt. Statute of Limitations Not a Defense for Diocese
Jan 7 2008 // A Superior Court judge has overturned a jury ruling that Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese isn’t liable for a pedophile priest because a victim’s lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations had...
Rules on Stronger Earthquake Codes for Ark. on Hold for Now
Jan 7 2008 // An Arkansas legislative committee has put off a review of the state’s building code after lawmakers questioned costs related to making structures withstand earthquakes that come once every 2,500 years. Firefighters...
No Charges for R.I. Lawmaker Who Left Scene of Minor Accident
Jan 4 2008 // Rhode Island Rep. Timothy Williamson will not face charges after leaving the scene of a minor car accident last month, an incident police have described as a hit-and-run. Williamson, a West Warwick Democrat and the town...
Insurers Win Court Fight over Delaware Home Insurance Renewals
Jan 4 2008 // In a victory for the insurance industry, a Delaware Superior Court has ruled that the state’s insurance regulator overstepped his authority when he prohibited property insurers from refusing to renew a homeowner...
Fitch Analyzes Brazil’s Overhaul of Reinsurance Rules
Jan 3 2008 // Fitch Ratings said it has “reviewed the main changes introduced by Resolutions 168, 169, 170, 171 and 172 of Brazil’s National Private Insurance Board, published in December 2007.” See also IJ web site:...
Hiscox Warns UK Companies of Increased Liabilities under ‘Manslaughter Act’
Jan 3 2008 // Specialist insurer Hiscox Plc has issued a stark warning to UK companies of their exposures to increased liabilities when the UK’s Corporate Manslaughter Act comes into force on April 6, 2008. The legislation had...
N.H. Fixes Workers’ Compensation Law for Contractors
Jan 3 2008 // As promised, New Hampshire lawmakers made changes to a controversial workers’ compensation measure affecting small contractors one of their first orders of business for 2008. Meeting in Concord on Jan. 2, the House...
Proposed Federal Regulation of Insurance Hotly Debated
Dec 31 2007 // Participants on a panel session debating the pros and cons of proposed federal regulation of the insurance industry at the Casualty Actuarial Society’s (CAS) annual meeting agreed there is a need for regulatory...
Top Insurance Stories in 2007 in Southeast
Dec 31 2007 // High heat, changing winds put reputations on the line. 1. Florida’s gamble “It’s all about rates,” maintained Sam Miller, of the industry’s Florida Insurance Council. Florida lawmakers in...
