Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Toyota Can Be Sued for Reduced Value of Cars, U.S. Judge Rules

May 17 2011 // Owners of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles that were recalled over unintended acceleration may pursue claims against the automaker that the problem caused the value of their cars to fall, a federal judge ruled Monday.U.S....

Feliciano Named VP of California Insurer Association

May 17 2011 // The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) has named Armand Feliciano vice president. He has 17 years of legal, regulatory and legislative advocacy experience in California. He will be responsible for...

Business Lobby Gets Mixed Results in Missouri Legislature

May 16 2011 // Missouri Republicans came into this year’s legislative session with historic majorities and a pledge to push a pro-business agenda they said would improve the state’s economy and lower its stubbornly high...

Insurers Fight over Flood Policies Dropped by State Farm

May 16 2011 // Major U.S. insurers are pushing to gain control of 800,000 former State Farm flood insurance policies as lawmakers contemplate reforms to the nation’s flood insurance system.The conflict began last year when State...

Florida Judge Finds Home Policy Covers Chinese Drywall

May 16 2011 // A Florida judge has ruled that a homeowners’ policy covers damage from tainted Chinese drywall. Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Robert Foster said he found no exclusion in the Teachers Insurance Co. policy that...

Judge Approves $7M Malpractice Settlement for Massachusetts Couple

May 16 2011 // A Massachusetts judge has approved a $7 million settlement for a Shrewsbury family who claimed medical negligence in the birth of their daughter.The lawsuit filed in 2008 lawsuit against two doctors, a nurse practitioner...

Pennsylvania House OKs Workers’ Comp Changes

May 16 2011 // Pennsylvania House lawmakers have approved new legislation that would allow insurers to write workers’ comp coverage to owners and principals of businesses.Agents in the state had sought the change to correct a...

Kentucky Streamlines Agent Licensing for Veterans

May 16 2011 // Members of the armed services will find it easier to keep or obtain an insurance agent’s license under a new law approved by Kentucky lawmakers. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has signed into law HB 301 that...

Florida Lawmakers Approve Property Reform

May 16 2011 // In the closing days of Florida’s legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that addresses sinkhole claims and a number of other property insurance issues.In addition to redefining sinkhole losses, the measure...

Judge Tosses New York Mets Fan’s Broken-Bat Lawsuit

May 16 2011 // A judge has thrown out a New York Mets fan’s lawsuit against the team and Major League Baseball over a bat that broke and flew into his face in the former Shea Stadium’s stands. A judge dismissed the case...

Florida Deregulates More Commercial Lines

May 16 2011 // Commercial insurers in Florida will have more leeway in setting rates on a number of lines of insurance under a bill approved by state lawmakers.The Florida legislature approved CS/HB 99 that expands the list of commercial...

Stalemate Over Workers’ Comp Stalls Washington Lawmakers

May 16 2011 // Washington state lawmakers grappling over how to fill a projected budget shortfall of $5 billion in a special legislative session may first have to end a stalemate on a more contentious issue: workers’...

House Committee Passes Flood Insurance Extension, Reform Bill

May 13 2011 // As flood waters continued rising along the Mississippi River, a House committee yesterday unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to extend the federal flood insurance program for five years and introduce financial...

Best’s Analysis Concludes Solvency II Will Transform EU Captive Insurers

May 13 2011 // Although it has been coming for more than 10 years, the European Union’s Solvency II regulations covering the community’s insurance industry is now virtually around the corner. Over the years there has been a...

Missouri Senate Sends Governor New Bill on Farm Lawsuits

May 12 2011 // Responding to objections from Gov. Jay Nixon, Missouri lawmakers passed a revised bill that would restrict the ability of neighboring property owners to bring nuisance lawsuits against large, smelly hog farms.The...

‘Pill Mill’ Doctor Convicted in Ohio of Causing 4 Deaths

May 12 2011 // A Chicago doctor accused of running a pill mill in an Appalachian county where painkillers are a public-health scourge has been convicted in Ohio of causing the death of four patients who overdosed.Dr. Paul Volkman, 64,...

White House to Propose Cybersecurity Legislation

May 12 2011 // White House officials Thursday planned to unveil a major legislative proposal aimed at improving U.S. cybersecurity and protecting the economy, an administration official said.The proposal is the result of two and one-half...

Oversight Council to Take More Time Identifying Systemic Risk Firms

May 12 2011 // The U.S. risk council will give the public more time to comment on the criteria for picking so-called “systemic” financial firms, after lawmakers scolded the new council for being opaque on the process.U.S....

North Carolina Subsidy for Firefighters’ Workers’ Comp in Jeopardy

May 11 2011 // Facing a tight state budget, North Carolina’s lawmakers are reconsidering the state’s financial commitment to a workers’ compensation fund that covers voluntary first responders in local communities.The...

Changes on the Playing Field; P&C Insurers Question Impact of New Regulations

May 11 2011 // The European insurance industry is becoming increasingly aware that the Solvency II regulations, which are scheduled to take effect as of January 1, 2013, will not only impose a different set of rules for the industry, but...