Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Florida Flex Rating Bill Passes House Subcommittee

Apr 11 2003 // The Florida House Subcommittee on Insurance Regulation has approved a bill that would establish a flex rating system for homeowners, commercial property, and auto insurance policies. “This measure is a good first...

N.D. Enacts NCOIL Insurance Scoring Model; Kan. Bill Sent To Governor

Apr 10 2003 // Legislation regulating the use of credit-based insurance scores was recently signed by North Dakota’s governor and has passed the Kansas legislature. Three other states, Colorado, Virginia and Wyoming have enacted...

Louisiana Lawmakers to Address Asbestos Reform Bills

Apr 9 2003 // A number of asbestos litigation reform bills were filed in both the Louisiana House and Senate for the session that began March 31, according to the Alliance of American Insurers, which has been active in developing and...

Fla. Senate Committee Passes No-Fault Measure Backed by AIA

Apr 9 2003 // The Florida Senate’s Banking & Insurance Committee gave its approval to no-fault legislation containing many reforms advocated by the American Insurance Association (AIA). According to the AIA, the Motor Vehicle...

NAII Says Issues Linger in Georgia as Legislature Winds Down

Apr 8 2003 // As the budget-dominated first year of a two-year Georgia legislative session winds down, a handful of insurance-related bills still remain to be settled, according to the National Association of Independent Insurers...

Judge Rules in Favor of State Fund in A&J Liquor Class Action Suit

Apr 8 2003 // A tentative ruling in the class action lawsuit A&J Liquor Co. Inc., et al v. State Compensation Insurance Fund found in favor of California’s largest workers’ comp insurer April 7. San Francisco Superior...

Conn. Senator Chris Dodd Honored as 2002 IIABA Legislator of the Year

Apr 7 2003 // Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd (D) was presented with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s 2002 Gerald Solomon Legislator of the Year Award during the Association’s 27th Annual National...

Alabama Announces Regulation Hearings

Apr 7 2003 // The Alabama Department of Insurance has scheduled regulation hearings for May 6 and May 21, 2003. The May 6 hearing will address the adoption of regulations concerning customer privacy and use of credit information....

Supreme Court Rules in Important Insurance Legal Case

Apr 7 2003 // A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today overturning a lower court’s ruling in State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Curtis B. Campbell and Inez Preece Campbell is a victory for insurers and state regulation...

Supreme Court Sides With State Farm, Insurance Industry

Apr 7 2003 // A jury award that would have forced State Farm Insurance Cos. to pay a Utah man $145 million in punitive damages has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Insurance trade groups said the 6-3 decision was a win not...

CALIF COMMISSIONER SEEKS ‘FAIR CLAIMS’ REG. CHANGES

Apr 7 2003 // Acting to provide greater protection for consumers who file insurance claims, California Commissioner John Garamendi has proposed amendments to the Fair Claims Settlement Practices (FCSP) regulations, which govern how...

Are Cost, Availability of Calif. Homeowners Insurance at Crisis Proportions’

Apr 7 2003 // Today, the California personal lines industry is at the peak of a down cycle that has adversely affected the homeowners’ insurance marketplace. The downturn began in 2000, and worsened after the Sept. 11 attack on...

TX WATER CLAIMS BILLGOES TO SEN.

Apr 7 2003 // Legislation authored by Texas Senator Troy Fraser to speed insurance companies’ response to water damage claims, limit the amount insurers can charge homeowners for previous water damage claims, and require the...

Playing the Waiting Game in the Texas Homeowners Market

Apr 7 2003 // Could it be that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the Texas homeowners market? Rates have firmed through waves of increases over the past two years to the point where they may have reached a pinnacle, at least...

Senate Passes Insurance Reform Bill

Apr 4 2003 // The Texas Senate passed, on a 28-3 vote, Senate Bill 14, major insurance reform legislation that addresses rate regulation and the use of credit-based insurance scores, among other things. Generally, the bill regulates the...

NAMIC Comments on Interim Rules of Terrorism Risk Ins. Act

Apr 3 2003 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) submitted comments this week to the Department of Treasury on the first round of interim final regulations of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The...

Industry Must Improve Regulatory Procedures, Ethics Group Says

Apr 2 2003 // The Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA) called for industry leaders to step up and take charge of efforts to improve regulatory procedures. IMSA executive director Brian Atchinson warned, The industry needs...

NAII Pushes for Regulatory Modernization in Louisiana

Mar 31 2003 // Legislative changes to address the insurance availability problem in Louisiana and to promote greater competition in the industry will be the crux of the National Association of Independent Insurers’ (NAII’s)...

Gerling Gets Favorable Court Ruling on Plans to Sell Reinsurance Unit

Mar 31 2003 // A court in Frankfurt has ruled against the German Supervisory authority’s, BAFin’s, objections to the sale of the Gerling group’s reinsurance operations, Gerling Globale Re, to Globale Management GmbH...

NAMIC Supporting Small Company Tax Inflation-Adjustment Legislation

Mar 31 2003 // Late last week, Senators Christopher Bond, R-Mo., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced S. 735, “Small Insurance Company Inflation Adjustment Act,” to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the tax...