Latest Legislation Headlines

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

North Carolina Court Rules Wounded Passenger Can Sue Police

Aug 9 2012 // A North Carolina appeals court said a car passenger wounded during a police chase on Asheville roads five years ago can continue to seek damages against officers involved in the pursuit but not the city’s now-retired...

Indiana Fair Victims Settlement Clause Designed to Shield State

Aug 9 2012 // Indiana lawmakers presented their decision to offer an additional $6 million to victims of a deadly stage collapse at last year’s state fair as a way to help those who weren’t adequately compensated by its...

U.S. Regulators Angered By N.Y. Action Against StanChart

Aug 8 2012 // The U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve were blindsided and angered by New York’s banking regulator’s decision to launch an explosive attack on Standard Chartered Plc over $250 billion in alleged money...

Kentucky Judge to Review Christians-Only Health Plan Case

Aug 8 2012 // A judge will consider whether a Christians-only health care plan should be held in contempt of court more than a year after the Kentucky Supreme Court subjected it to stricter regulations that could have meant its demise...

Calif.’s 9th Circuit Hands Former NFL Player Worker’s Comp Loss

Aug 7 2012 // Retired National Football League offensive lineman Bruce Matthews’ attempt to collect workers’ compensation benefits in California was slapped down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal, which ruled he failed to...

Florida Officials, Insurers Urge Caution Over PIP Savings Report

Aug 7 2012 // A preliminary report on the impact of Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law suggesting it could result in savings between 12 percent and 20 percent on a portion of drivers’ premiums is presenting as many...

UK Bank May Have Hidden $250 Billion in Iran Deals; May Lose U.S. License

Aug 7 2012 // New York’s top bank regulator threatened to strip Standard Chartered Plc of its state banking license, saying the British bank was a “rogue institution” that hid $250 billion in transactions tied to Iran,...

Florida Regulators Question Auto Insurance Savings

Aug 6 2012 // Florida regulators are warning that a preliminary report estimating a new law will cut no-fault auto insurance premiums by 12 percent to 20 percent may be misleading and overly optimistic.The Office of Insurance Regulation...

DWI Legislation Among New Laws Passed in Louisiana

Aug 6 2012 // Louisiana lawmakers passed a number of laws in the 2012 legislative session that address drunk driving. Following are some of the new laws that target DWIs: SB 306 (ACT 547): Addressed the computation of time for the...

Auto Insurers’ Use of Credit Data

Aug 6 2012 // There is an effort now underway in Washington, D.C., to eliminate the use of consumer credit information by auto insurance companies.Three lawmakers are leading that effort in Congress. On July 13, Reps. Hansen Clarke...

A Decade Later: Is Sarbanes-Oxley Working?

Aug 6 2012 // When Peregrine Financial collapsed in July, a nagging question resurfaced. As in the implosion of Lehman Brothers, the fall of Bernard Madoff and other cases in recent years, many asked: Where were the accountants?That...

Conference: Risk, Returns, Regulation and More Regulation

Aug 6 2012 // Coming off a rough few years of recession, then a disaster prone 2011 — and then more global uncertainty in 2012 — the world and the insurance industry have a few things to look forward to in the next year.They also...

North Carolina Insurance Reforms Fall Short

Aug 6 2012 // North Carolina lawmakers approved a bill with some changes to the property insurance system but, as one industry expert said, in so doing lawmakers “just stuck more fingers in the dike.”Despite what critics say...

Feds to Take Over Hawaii Job-Safety Regulation

Aug 6 2012 // The federal government will temporarily take control of parts of Hawaii’s authority to regulate workplace safety.In response to federal concern over staff reductions in the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health...

House Passes $383 million US Drought Aid Bill for Ranchers

Aug 3 2012 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $383 million disaster relief bill on Thursday that provides political shelter for lawmakers during the worst drought in half a century, but may not release the aid for months to...

Thomson Reuters Establishes Connecticut’s First Captive Insurance Co.

Aug 2 2012 // Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy announced today that international media and information company Thomson Reuters has relocated its U.S. insurance subsidiary from Delaware to Connecticut.The subsidiary, Thomson Reuters Risk...

Mass. Healthcare Cost Containment Measure Aims to Save Up to $200B

Aug 2 2012 // Massachusetts lawmakers have given final approval to a bill designed to save up to $200 billion in health care costs over the next 15 years.Legislative leaders say the bill will help guarantee the future of the...

Natural Gas Drilling Co. Tells N.Y.: Stop the Local Bans or We’ll Sue

Aug 1 2012 // A natural gas drilling company is taking a new tack in the industry’s fight against local drilling bans: It’s threatening to sue if New York regulators don’t step in and extinguish the prohibitions.John...

Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Check Fraud Efforts Produce Results

Aug 1 2012 // Just months after Florida lawmakers enacted a new law designed to target the role of check cashing companies in the construction industry, state officials announced a string of arrests netting more than $140 million in...

N.Y. Judge Orders Iran, al-Qaida to Pay $6B for 9/11

Aug 1 2012 // A federal judge in New York has ordered al-Qaida, the Taliban and Iran to pay $6 billion to relatives of Sept. 11 victims for aiding in the 2001 terror attacks.Manhattan Federal Magistrate Judge Frank Maas’ ruling...