Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Taiwan Insurer Approved by Chinese Regulator for Mainland Operations
Oct 16 2007 // Two wholly owned units of Cathay Financial Holding Co. have obtained approval from Chinese regulators to enter the property insurance market on the mainland, the Taiwanese company has said. Cathay Life Insurance Co. and...
S&P Comments on Standardizing Global Insurance Accounting Rules
Oct 16 2007 // In a new report Standard & Poor’s states that the “International Accounting Standard Board’s (IASB) discussion paper on insurance contracts may well set the tone for a new global frame...
Florida Subpoenas Allstate Over Home Insurance Rate Increases, Industry Ties
Oct 16 2007 // Florida officials have subpoenaed Allstate Insurance and its subsidiaries to get the insurer to explain why it is not lowering homeowners insurance rates in the state and to defend its dealings with the industry’s...
N.D. Worker’s Comp Officials Get Trial Judge, Arraignment Date
Oct 15 2007 // The criminal case against two North Dakota state workers’ compensation officials has been assigned to the district judge who earlier dismissed some charges against one of the defendants. Sandy Blunt, the chief...
Fla. Judge Rules in Favor of Insurance Regulators on Subpoena Challenge
Oct 15 2007 // A Leon County Circuit Court Judge has dismissed petitions filed by the Cincinnati Insurance Co. and the Cincinnati Indemnity Co., according to The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. In the petitions, the companies...
Kan. Lawmakers Propose Funding for Housing for Storm-ravaged Areas
Oct 15 2007 // A bipartisan group of state lawmakers want to provide $50 million to build new housing in Kansas communities still hurting from storms earlier this year. The Greensburg tornado in May and flooding in southeast Kansas...
Survey Reports Drop in New Lawsuits, Actions Filed Against U.S. Companies
Oct 15 2007 // It may be too early to say that conflict has become passé, but U.S. businesses report a distinct drop in the number of lawsuits filed against them in the past year, according to the latest Litigation Trends Survey...
Do Medical Malpractice Screening Panels Lower Costs or Save Time?
Oct 14 2007 // A two-year-old New Hampshire law that was supposed to speed up the processing of medical malpractice lawsuits has slowed things down instead. The law created special screening panels designed to encourage people to settle...
Judge Delivers Blow to Bush Plan to Crack Down on Illegal Labor
Oct 12 2007 // A federal judge in California has blocked a proposed rule requiring employers to fire workers whose names don’t match their Social Security numbers, dealing a major blow to the Bush administration’s crackdown...
Agents Fear N.Y. Coast Insurance Market Worse; Pols Weigh Options
Oct 11 2007 // New York lawmakers are considering taking action to improve coastal insurance availability while insurance agents are telling them they fear market restrictions are worsening. Insurance companies, meanwhile, claim the...
Fla. Gov. Crist Signs Bill to Bring Back No-Fault Auto Insurance
Oct 11 2007 // Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation that will re-enact Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law and ensure that drivers have $10,000 worth of health care benefits through personal injury protection or PIP coverage...
Calif. Governor Signs Flood Legislation, Rejects Bill on Child Booster Seats
Oct 11 2007 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation designed to strengthen flood protections in California and approved a bill that would ban smoking in vehicles carrying children. Meanwhile, he rejected a measure...
W. Va. Lawmakers Ponder Power Shift in Workers’ Compensation
Oct 10 2007 // West Virginia legislators learned Sunday that they have no one to blame but themselves for the loss of power over the rules that govern workers’ compensation claims and benefits. Lawmakers first ceded the rule-making...
N.Y. Lawmaker Says Safety Device is Harming Firefighters
Oct 10 2007 // A New York lawmaker is urging rigorous federal testing of a safety device linked to firefighter deaths and injuries. Sen. Charles Schumer said that the device, called a Personal Alert Safety System, or PASS, was used by a...
Calif. Earthquake Bill Receives Criticism, Could Raise Rates
Oct 10 2007 // Critics of a bill recently signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger say more than 760,000 California homeowners who buy earthquake insurance through a state-run authority could see their premiums rise . But the measure’s...
Mass. Bans Credit Scores in Both Rating, Underwriting in New Auto Plan
Oct 9 2007 // Auto insurers in Massachusetts will not be able to use credit scores to price or underwrite risks when the state enters its managed competition market next April. Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes sided with consumer...
Corporations Await Supreme Court Ruling on Reach of Securities Lawsuits
Oct 9 2007 // The hopes of Enron investors are riding on a case being argued before the Supreme Court today that may be the last chance at compensation for their losses when the scandal-ridden energy company collapsed. Much of corporate...
Texas Administrative Judges Reject State Farm’s Proposed Hike
Oct 9 2007 // Two administrative law judges in Texas rejected State Farm’s plan to increase homeowner insurance rates, calling the hike too excessive in a proposed decision issued Oct. 5. State Farm Lloyds Inc. had appealed to the...
Washington insurers, trail lawyers at odds over treble damages
Oct 8 2007 // Study says Referendum 67 could cost $650 million With millions in campaign contributions and plenty of name-calling, trial lawyers and insurance companies in Washington are doing their best to spice up this fall’s...
Ky. Gov. Fletcher willing to compromise on medical tort reform
Oct 8 2007 // In a blunt assessment, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher told fellow doctors recently that chances of limiting pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases are bleak because of resistance from some state lawmakers....
