Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits

Jun 4 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year.An advisory panel recently concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover all of...

Maryland to Privatize State-Run Workers’ Comp Insurer IWIF

Jun 4 2012 // The Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund (IWIF), Maryland’s state-run workers’ comp insurance carrier, will become a private, nonprofit company under a new name Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance, effective...

Michigan Court Rules for Insurer in Tragic Hit-and-Run

Jun 1 2012 // The Michigan Supreme Court says an insurance company doesn’t have to pay benefits in a hit-and-run case because the incident wasn’t reported within 30 days. The court’s conservative majority overturned a...

N.J. Judge: Texter Not Liable for Driver’s Car Crash

Jun 1 2012 // A woman who texted her boyfriend while he was driving cannot be held liable for a car crash he caused while responding, seriously injuring a motorcycling couple, a judge in New Jersey ruled last Friday in what is believed...

R Street Institute Launches ‘Right Street Blog’ on InsuranceJournal.com

Jun 1 2012 // The R Street Institute, a new insurance free market think tank, has launched an insurance issue-oriented blog on InsuranceJournal.com.The blog, titled Right Street Blog, is being authored by Eli Lehrer, president of R...

Judge Slashes SeaWorld’s OSHA Fine for Death of Whale Trainer

Jun 1 2012 // SeaWorld Orlando’s $75,000 fine from the federal job safety agency for the death of a trainer by a killer whale two years ago has been reduced to $12,000, according to a judge’s ruling obtained Wednesday.The...

Free Markets Don’t Have to Mean No Regulation

Jun 1 2012 // A pragmatic, free-market take on insurance related issues from R Street Institute’s Eli Lehrer.A one-time boss of mine—a bearded gentleman who liked cigars, opera, candy and the Austrian School of economics—used...

Professional Liability Risks Evolve with Changes in Healthcare System

Jun 1 2012 // National healthcare reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010 may or may not survive consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the healthcare system already has been evolving in ways that are likely to proceed...

Judge Reduces Prison Sentence of Chicago Insurance Mogul

May 31 2012 // A federal judge has spared a former Chicago executive the necessity of serving the final few months of his prison sentence for stealing millions from his insurance brokerage.U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo, citing...

Flood Insurance Program Extended Until July 31

May 31 2012 // As expected, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed with a Senate a measure extending the federal flood insurance program for 60 days until July 31.President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law before the...

Many Gray Areas in Legal Arguments Over Botched Faceook IPO

May 30 2012 // Facebook’s initial public offering has sparked lawsuits and investigations after a botched trading debut on the Nasdaq stock market delayed the completion of many orders and questions arose about selective...

Google Wins Copyright Ruling in France

May 29 2012 // A French court ruled that Google is not responsible for filtering content on YouTube, dealing a blow to French broadcaster TF1 which sought damages for copyrighted sports and movies which ended up on the video-sharing...

Court Rules Suit Over Student’s Death Can Proceed

May 29 2012 // The Utah Supreme Court has paved the way for a lawsuit over the November 2008 death of a St. George high school student to proceed in federal court.In a 3-2 decision handed down Friday, justices ruled school districts...

R.I. Enacts New Law to Assist Homeowners With Hurricane-Related Claims

May 24 2012 // Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday signed into law legislation designed to provide additional protection to homeowners when they suffer damages from hurricanes.The legislation (House bill 2012-H7484A and Senate...

Maryland’s State-Run WC Insurer IWIF to Become Private Nonprofit Co.

May 23 2012 // The Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund (IWIF), Maryland’s state-run workers’ comp insurance carrier, will become a private, nonprofit company under a new name Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance, effective...

Texas Judge Rules State Parole Officials Can Be Held Liable

May 23 2012 // A federal judge in Texas has ordered that state parole officials can be held personally liable by inmates suing over restrictive sex-offender conditions required of them, even though they were never convicted of a sex...

AIA Calls for More International Market Access for U.S. Insurers

May 23 2012 // The American Insurance Association has issued a statement, which points out several instances of a “disconnect between the continued significant global insurance capacity and a strong demand for insurance products...

Weather, Safety Concerns Pull Plug on Bloomington, Indiana July 4 Show

May 22 2012 // Concerns about weather, costs and new regulations on temporary stages sparked by last year’s deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair have prompted organizers to cancel an annual Fourth of July picnic and...

Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Judge Vacates Order After Ethics Rule Cited

May 22 2012 // An Oklahoma workers’ compensation court judge has vacated an order he signed in favor of an attorney he plans to work for after leaving the bench.Judge Kent Eldridge told The Oklahoman in a copyright story that he...

No Changes Made for Missouri Injured Worker Fund

May 22 2012 // Missouri’s financially troubled fund for injured workers will get no relief from the state Legislature for at least another year.The state Second Injury Fund takes businesses off the hook for paying the claims of...