Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Lawmaker: Oklahoma Bill Would Help Homeowners with Insurance Claims

Jan 26 2012 // A bill filed in Oklahoma aims to help homeowners with insurance claim payments issued through mortgage companies.Legislation filed by Oklahoma state Rep. Charles Ortega would give mortgage companies no more than 10 days to...

Florida Gov. Scott Leads a PIP Rally for Reform

Jan 25 2012 // Standing in the rotunda of Florida’s capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday, Florida officials and business leaders called on state lawmakers to reform the state’s no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) auto...

The Politics of Florida PIP: Industry Looks on While Pols Seek Answers

Jan 25 2012 // Most agree that Florida’s automobile no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) system needs to be reformed. But in the halls of the state Capitol the struggle over just how to reform the law has exposed how...

Group to Push Idaho Liquor Vote, Grocers Back Off

Jan 25 2012 // A grocery lobbying organization won’t advance a liquor privatization ballot measure in 2012, but a second group announced it will seek to get an initiative before voters next November.The Idaho Federation of Reagan...

Analysis of New EU Data Protection Laws Command the Tide but Not the Cost

Jan 24 2012 // New data-protection proposals from the European Union to help people regain control of personal information from sites like Facebook could prove as effective as commanding the tide, while hurting small firms and Web giants...

Judge Denies BP Request to Penalize Halliburton

Jan 23 2012 // A federal judge in New Orleans shot down BP’s request to penalize Halliburton for allegedly destroying damaging evidence about the quality of its cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well that blew out last...

Florida Supreme Court Rules Guaranty Fund Not Responsible for Legal Fees

Jan 23 2012 // Florida’s high court has ruled that the state fund charged with paying claims from insolvent insurers is not responsible for paying a claimant’s legal fees on a pre-insolvent claim unless they are specifically...

Europe to Issue Tough Rules Protecting Internet Users’ Data

Jan 23 2012 // The European Union will propose tough new rules in the coming days on how corporations handle Internet users’ personal data, a long-awaited move that could have far-reaching implications for Web giants such as Google...

People

Jan 23 2012 // John F. Finston has accepted an appointment to be deputy commissioner for Corporate & Regulatory Affairs at the California Department of Insurance.Finston was the head of SNR Denton’s insurance regulation...

Texas Lawmakers Object

Jan 23 2012 // Some lawmakers in Texas want Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman to withdraw the state’s request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal health insurance reform law. State Rep. Lon...

Judge Allows Suit Alleging GE Misled Investors

Jan 23 2012 // A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit accusing General Electric Co and its chief executive of misleading investors about the conglomerate’s financial health and exposure to risky debt during the 2008...

5 Strategies for P/C Insurers for 2012

Jan 23 2012 // The economic uncertainty that plagues buyers of insurance does not bode well for the property/casualty insurance industry, experts are warning.Ernst & Young, the global tax and business advisory firm, said it expects...

N.J. Court Rules for Allstate in Agency Lawsuits

Jan 23 2012 // Allstate said the Superior Court of New Jersey has entered judgment in favor of Allstate New Jersey Insurance Company, a unit of Allstate Insurance Company, and dismissed claims in the franchise lawsuits filed against...

New Global Risks Create Need for Expanded Directors & Officers Liability Program

Jan 23 2012 // The risk of lawsuits against senior executives has long been a major concern for businesses in the United States. But in the last few years it has become a much more serious global exposure as well.The international legal...

Boston Judge Orders 14 Drug Cos. to Settle Breast Cancer Case

Jan 21 2012 // A federal judge in Boston has ordered 14 drug companies to negotiate settlements for 53 women who claim their breast cancer was caused by an anti-miscarriage drug their mothers took decades ago. Lawyers for the women said...

Senate, House Scuttle Online Piracy Bills

Jan 20 2012 // Senate and House leaders have put their online piracy bills on the back burner after a week of heavy lobbying by technology industry critics of the bills.“It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best...

Fitch: Bermuda Insurance Market Resilient as Pricing Firms

Jan 20 2012 // Following near-record global catastrophe losses in 2011, Bermuda-domiciled reinsurers are positioned to benefit from an improved underwriting and somewhat better pricing environment this year, according to analysts at...

Financial Stability Tops List of Insurers’ Concerns: Geneva Association

Jan 19 2012 // A newly published study from insurance think tank the Geneva Association analyzes the principle concerns facing the industry in 2012. The current global financial instability tops the list. It’s closely followed by...

What Would Online Piracy Bills SOPA and PIPA Do?

Jan 19 2012 // The House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act have generated fierce opposition within the...

Ship Disaster Unlikely to Prompt Quick Safety Changes

Jan 19 2012 // The cruise ship disaster off Italy’s coast is drawing fresh scrutiny to the gaps in international safety rules and standards – yet there may be little appetite among the world’s major shipping nations and...