Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Florida’s Citizens Insurance Says Legislation Needed for Real Change

Dec 6 2011 // Florida’s largest homeowner insurer is offering a slate of coverage changes, but concedes that without legislative changes there will be little reduction in its exposure or policyholder count.Gov. Rick Scott last...

Torus Acquires Renewals of C.V. Starr for Continental Europe; Interview with Int’l. CEO O’Donohoe

Dec 5 2011 // Torus announced that it has entered into an agreement with Starr Underwriting Agents Limited whereby Torus Syndicate 2243 acquires the renewal rights to CV Starr Syndicate 1919’s Continental European Marine,...

Lawmakers Block Safety Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments

Dec 5 2011 // Lawmakers responded to pleas from industry and foreign governments on Friday with a tentative agreement to block the Obama administration from requiring that air shipments of lithium batteries be treated as hazardous cargo...

Well-Meaning Decisions Yield Unintended Consequences

Dec 5 2011 // It would be difficult to find an industry more competitive than the insurance business. Our long-term results prove that to be true. Far more often than not, the industry loses money on what is supposed to be our core...

Judge Rejects Citigroup-SEC Mortgage Settlement

Dec 5 2011 // A federal judge blocked Citigroup Inc.’s proposed $285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the top U.S. market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements.U.S. District...

Judge: Transocean Insurance not Available to BP for Oil Spill

Dec 5 2011 // BP has lost two big rulings in its fight to shield itself from potentially having to pay billions of dollars more in damages related to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.A federal judge ruled in mid-November...

N.Y. Loosens Regulations for Large Commercial Insureds

Dec 5 2011 // New York State Department of Financial Services issued new rules to implement a new state law that deregulates most insurance business for large, sophisticated companies and public entities.The law exempts insurers from...

Nebraska Health Providers Urge State-based Insurance Exchange

Dec 2 2011 // Nebraska should not wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Obama administration’s health care overhaul before it prepares a state-based insurance exchange, a leading hospital advocate said.Bruce Rieker, a...

North Carolina Law on Electronics Coverage to Take Effect

Dec 2 2011 // North Carolina companies that sell portable electronics coverage will soon be able to offer insurance under a new state law that is due to take effect at the end of the year.Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a bill...

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Non-U.S. Claims Against Toyota

Dec 2 2011 // Toyota Motor Corp has won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit brought by vehicle owners in 14 other countries who said their Toyotas lost value because of the Japanese automaker’s mishandling of alleged unintended...

Judge Allows Indiana State Fair Victims to Form Class

Dec 1 2011 // A federal judge certified all of the victims of the Indiana State Fair concert stage collapse into a single class in a lawsuit challenging a law that caps the state’s liability at $5 million, but she concluded the...

Geithner Hits Attempts to Weaken Wall Street Reforms

Dec 1 2011 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that opponents of financial-sector reform were trying to sabotage efforts to strengthen the system against crisis.“With millions of Americans still struggling...

Safety Oversght of Government Aircraft Lacking

Nov 30 2011 // Nonmilitary government agencies operate more aircraft than the world’s largest airline but are subject to little federal safety oversight — a situation accident investigators say has contributed to air crashes and...

Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban for Auto Insurance

Nov 29 2011 // Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that bans the use of credit in underwriting and rating private passenger motor vehicle insurance in his state.The law, Chapter 195 of the Acts of 2011, was signed...

Judge Orders Georgia Tornado-Damaged Hotel Demolished

Nov 29 2011 // A city judge in the northwest Georgia town of Ringgold has ordered a tornado-ravaged hotel to be torn down.Judge Gene Lowery said in a hearing last week that the Baymont Inn & Suites is an eyesore and must be...

Florida Looks to Manage State’s Workers’ Compensation Costs

Nov 29 2011 // Florida officials are looking for ways to reduce the state government’s workers’ compensation costs and considering changing some mandates that grant first responders automatic benefits and reducing...

Judge Rejects Citigroup-SEC Mortgage Settlement; Orders Trial

Nov 28 2011 // A federal judge angrily threw out Citigroup Inc.’s proposed $285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the top U.S. market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements.U.S....

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts Won’t Seek Re-election

Nov 28 2011 // U.S. Democratic Representative Barney Frank, who helped to craft the landmark overhaul of financial regulations that bears his name, will not seek re-election in 2012, Democratic aides said Monday.Frank, one of the most...

Massachusetts Lawmakers Weigh Changes to Motorcycle Laws

Nov 28 2011 // Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing changes to the state’s motorcycle laws, including bills designed to ease the requirement that riders wear helmets.Current law requires all riders and passengers to wear protective...

N.Y. Court Rules on Asbestos Defense Costs for Primary Insurer

Nov 23 2011 // A New York State court ruled last Friday that an asbestos defendant is entitled to full defense from its primary insurer for certain asbestos liabilities, with the primary insurer paying all defense costs for covered...