Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Judge Releases Mass. Agency from 9/11 Lawsuit

Jul 29 2011 // The Massachusetts Port Authority was dismissed as a defendant from the last pending wrongful death lawsuit related to the Sept. 11 attacks, leaving United Airlines and a security company facing a trial in which airport...

Contractors Acting As Public Insurance Adjusters Irk States

Jul 29 2011 // Public adjusting activity is not welcome or licensed in all states and even in some where it is, the practice is coming under close scrutiny. In particular, states are cracking down on roofing and other contractors who...

House Committee Hears Concerns on Surplus Lines Reform Tax Issue

Jul 28 2011 // Just days after the surplus line reform legislation became effective, federal legislators heard comments from industry insiders on concerns regarding the implementation of provisions in the bill, including how states will...

Long-Time Virginia Insurance Commissioner Gross Dies

Jul 28 2011 // Alfred W. Gross, who served as insurance commissioner for the state of Virginia for 14 years until he retired last year, has passed away, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).Gross...

Florida Citizens Proceeds with Bid for 400% Sinkhole Rate Hike

Jul 28 2011 // Florida residents who purchase sinkhole insurance through the state-back Citizens Property Insurance Corp. could be looking at increases of more than 400 percent for the optional coverage next year.By a 4-0 vote, the...

Lehman Executives, Auditor Must Defend Investor Lawsuit, Judge Rules

Jul 27 2011 // Former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. executives, directors, auditors and underwriters on Wednesday lost their bid to dismiss an investor lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for losses tied to the investment...

Conn. Demands Unemployment Payments from Businesses

Jul 27 2011 // Tens of thousands of businesses in Connecticut are receiving bills from the state to pay $30 million in interest this year for state borrowing from the federal government for unemployment insurance benefits.About 73,000...

North Carolina House Joins Senate to Override Veto of Malpractice Cap

Jul 27 2011 // Victims of North Carolina doctors guilty of medical malpractice will be limited to $500,000 what they can collect for pain, suffering and lost body parts under legislation the state House passed into law over a veto by...

Alaska Joins State Surplus Lines Coalition

Jul 26 2011 // Members of the Non-Admitted Insurance Multi-State Agreement coalition are proud to welcome Alaska to the NIMA group. Insurance Director Linda Hall signed on behalf of Alaska, which collected $109 million in excess and...

California WC Appeals Board Takes Back Physician Ruling

Jul 26 2011 // Just a few months after the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board ruled that a non-approved physician’s report cannot be used to support workers’ compensation eligibility, it is reconsidering...

Judge Blasts West Virginia Medical Damages Cap

Jul 25 2011 // A West Virginia judge who helped West Virginia’s Supreme Court hear a recent medical malpractice case is blasting the outcome.First Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson dissented sharply on Friday with last month’s...

MetLife to Sell Banking Unit to Avoid ‘Too Big To Fail’ Regulation

Jul 22 2011 // MetLife, the largest life insurance company in the United States, has put its banking operations up for sale to avoid the “too big to fail” regulatory scrutiny that analysts have said was likely.MetLife said...

Ready or Not, New Surplus Lines Law Is Here

Jul 21 2011 // The implementation deadline for the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act has arrived. States have been scrambling over the past year to update surplus lines laws that will conform with NRRA requirements, while agents and...

U.S. Judge Allows Shareholder Suits Against China Accountants

Jul 21 2011 // The fourth time was the charm for shareholders suing the auditors of Shenzhen-based China Expert Technology.China Expert shareholders have been trying unsuccessfully to sue the company’s accounting firms for failing...

Good Morning NRRA! Home State Scenarios for Affiliated Groups

Jul 21 2011 // Welcome to the magical mystery tour of Home State taxation and regulation under Nonadmitted Insurance and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA). The NRRA went live at 12:01 a.m., July 21, 2011, in all time zones. You may...

Canada’s Reformed Class Action Law Wins Few Friends

Jul 20 2011 // A Canadian law designed to make it easier to bring class action suits against companies that mislead investors has all sides frustrated as it faces its first real-world tests.Changes to the Ontario Securities Act that came...

California Surplus Lines Bill Signed Into Law

Jul 20 2011 // California passed legislation this week that will allow the state to implement provisions in a new federal surplus lines insurance law.The federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA), which becomes...

Massachusetts Judge: Obsolete Fire-Suppression Means No Claims Paid

Jul 20 2011 // A Massachusetts restaurant owner who failed to upgrade his obsolete fire suppression system was not entitled to collect insurance money after a massive fire six years ago — and must return $15,000 advanced to him by his...

Mississippi Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Scruggs Book Authors

Jul 20 2011 // A Lafayette County, Mississippi circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a former federal prosecutor and a political blogger over a book they co-wrote about the judicial corruption case involving former attorney...

U.S. Judge Permits Toyota Appeal in California

Jul 20 2011 // A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Toyota Motor Corp. lawyers could appeal a previous ruling allowing consumers without sudden-acceleration claims to join litigation before a Santa Ana, California, court.The ruling by...