Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Calls for Tougher Chemical Regulation Follow West Virginia Spill

Jan 14 2014 // A chemical spill that left 300,000 people in West Virginia unable to drink their water is reviving calls for more stringent regulation of thousands of chemical storage sites in the U.S., especially those near water...

N.H. Court Upholds Local Government Center Repayment Decision

Jan 13 2014 // The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld an order for the Local Government Center to return $33 million in surplus risk-pool funds to participating cities and towns and restore $17 million it transferred out of its...

Walker Named North Carolina Captive Insurance Director

Jan 13 2014 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has named Debbie Walker as director of captive insurance for the state.As head of the insurance department’s new captive insurance section, Walker will be...

Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants Church Shelters Protected from Liability Lawsuits

Jan 13 2014 // An Oklahoma legislator is proposing a measure that would protect churches from lawsuits if someone is injured when they open their doors as disaster shelters.On Friday, state Rep. Bobby Cleveland of Slaughterville...

Florida Panel Takes First Step To Creating Private Flood Market

Jan 13 2014 // With thousands of Florida residents facing dramatic increases in their flood insurance premiums, state lawmakers are preparing the groundwork for a private market option to premiums charged by the federal flood insurance...

Policing the ‘Dark Side’ of Internet of Things

Jan 13 2014 // The futuristic world of self-driving cars, eyeglasses that e-mail and trash cans that call for pickup is running into the old-fashioned pace of doing business in Washington.Companies from Google Inc. to Bayerische Motoren...

EnPro’s Garlock Wins Trial on Asbestos Liability; Judge Hits Claimants’ Lawyers

Jan 13 2014 // Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC, a unit of EnPro Industries Inc., emerged victorious after a trial with official representatives of asbestos personal injury claimants.Adopting the company’s estimate, U.S. Bankruptcy...

Flood Maps Still Wrong, Oregon Homeowners Still Paying

Jan 13 2014 // Months after Carol Justice was wrongly told her home needs flood insurance, the Cornelius resident is still paying up – even though a surveyor has since determined her house is not in the flood zone.Justice is one of...

Failing to Make the Case for Rate Regulation

Jan 13 2014 // In 1988 California voters enacted Proposition 103, in one stroke changing the state’s law regulating insurance rates from one of the least restrictive to one of the most restrictive in the nation. In the 25 years...

Transportation Network Companies, Uber Gap Worries Insurers

Jan 10 2014 // The tragedy of a young girl who was killed on New Year’s Eve by a motorist on contract with a cellphone app-based ridesharing service has at least one insurance group speaking up even louder to drive home a point...

Penn. Court: Caregiver Mother Stabbed by Son Deserves Workers’ Comp

Jan 10 2014 // A state appeals court ruled on Jan. 8 that a western Pennsylvania woman who was paid to help care for her disabled adult son in her home deserves workers’ compensation after he tried to kill her by slashing her...

Delaware Judge Weighs D&O Insurer’s Obligation in Oracle Settlement

Jan 10 2014 // Attorneys for Oracle Corp. are asking a Delaware judge to order an insurer to pay $20 million to cover attorney fees related to the proposed settlement of a shareholder lawsuit.The lawsuit challenged Oracle’s 2011...

Bill Giving White House ‘Fast Track’ Trade Pact Authority Filed But Passage Uncertain

Jan 10 2014 // U.S. lawmakers on Thursday proposed a bill to give the White House power to fast-track international trade agreements as the United States gears up for a hectic year of trade negotiations.The bill would let the...

Pressure Mounts to Improve Oil-Rail Safety; Older Tank Cars in Canada Crash

Jan 10 2014 // Political pressure to quickly improve the safety of crude oil rail shipments intensified in Washington on Thursday, while Canadian officials said two of the cars involved in the latest fiery derailment were of an older...

Insurance M&A Trends That May Lead to ‘Perfect Storm’ in 2014

Jan 9 2014 // Encouraged by a vigorous period of insurance M&A activity in the second half of 2012, many in the industry had high expectations of robustness in 2013. It’s clear now that 2013 M&A activity did not reach the...

Groups Urge Congress to Target Flood Insurance Fix to Help Needy, Not Wealthy

Jan 9 2014 // Opponents of delaying Biggert-Waters flood insurance reforms and stopping the resulting premium hikes say the negative effects are being exaggerated and instead of gutting all of the reforms, Congress should target its...

Delaware Chancery Court’s Strine Nominated to Lead State’s Supreme Court

Jan 9 2014 // Leo Strine, the outspoken chief judge of Delaware’s nationally important business court, has been nominated to lead the state’s Supreme Court, Delaware Governor Jack Markell said on Wednesday.The move, if...

Top 3 Trends for P/C Insurers: Deloitte

Jan 9 2014 // Property/casualty insurers should be thinking about transforming how they do business and how they can better deploy technology if they want to pursue long-term growth, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial...

Legislation Filed in Illinois Would Nix Workers’ Comp for Non-Work Accidents

Jan 8 2014 // Illinois lawmakers will consider legislation this spring that aims to clarify who is responsible for injuries sustained in a traffic accident on the way to work.Lee Enterprises Newspapers in Illinois reported that Sen....

West Virginia Mine Regulators Urge More Safety Reforms

Jan 8 2014 // West Virginia mining regulators are calling for more reforms to protect coal miners’ health and safety.A report from the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training recommends tougher state standards to...