Latest Legislation Headlines

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

U.S. Safety Agency Eyes Cell Phone Use Ban for Bus, Truck Drivers

Sep 25 2009 // Safety investigators told federal regulators three years ago that it was dangerous for bus drivers to talk on cell phones while driving and recommended a ban.The National Transportation Safety Board put that recommendation...

Bermuda Monetary Authority Concludes Pact with Florida Insurance Regulator

Sep 25 2009 // The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR).The bulletin noted that it “is the latest in a number of such agreements...

Administration Backs Financial Consumer Agency; Bill Exempts P/C

Sep 23 2009 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued forcefully Wednesday for creating a government watchdog for financial consumers, while giving cautious support to paring back its scope.Amid stiff resistance by banks and...

Insurance Execs Not Confident of Underwriting Profit Over Next 3 Years

Sep 23 2009 // Insurance executives see their companies performing above general market expectations in 2010, but their outlook on the industry’s ability to generate underwriting profit in the next one to three years remains...

Insurers Honor 2 North Carolina Lawmakers for Beach Plan Bill

Sep 23 2009 // Two North Carolina state legislators have been named “State Legislators of the Year” by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) for their efforts to pass legislation reforming the...

New York Earns Accreditation by Insurance Commissioners’ Group

Sep 23 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department has been accredited under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Financial Regulations Standards and Accreditation Program.“State insurance...

‘Main Street’ P/C Insurers Tell Congress They Don’t Need More Regulation

Sep 23 2009 // Home, auto and business insurers did not cause the current financial crisis, do not present systemic risk, and are already regulated effectively, a group of them is telling federal lawmakers looking at expanding financial...

Noted California Insurance Lobbyist Passes Away

Sep 23 2009 // Long-time Sacramento lobbyist for California insurance agents and former Federal Bureau of Investigations investigator, Fred G. Dupuis, died last week in Marin County, where he had lived for 60 years. Dupuis was 93 years...

Judge Sides with Contractor in Indiana Explosion Lawsuit

Sep 22 2009 // A federal judge has ruled that a contractor does not owe damages to Vectren Corp. over a natural gas explosion at an Indiana home that killed two women. Vectren sued Iowa Pipeline Associates, claiming its workers...

Report Warns Against Applying Systemic Risk Regulation to Insurers

Sep 22 2009 // Blame for the financial crisis and the near collapse of American International Group should reflect “the substantial evidence of fundamental failures in U.S. and foreign regulation of commercial banking, thrift...

States Give a ‘Thumbs Up’ to Fingerprinting Insurance Producers

Sep 21 2009 // Don’t be alarmed, but there are convicted criminals roaming around the country acting as insurance producers. They could be robbers, forgers, possibly even rapists.They got their producer licenses in states that did...

Virginia Agents Present Award to Lawmaker

Sep 21 2009 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) has given its Commonwealth Award to Republican lawmaker Frank D. Hargrove Sr. The award recognizes outstanding service for the insurance industry, independent insurance...

New York Issues New Draft of Disclosure Rules for Agents

Sep 21 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department released proposed new rules mandating how and what insurance agents must reveal to clients about how they are compensated in the sale of policy.The so-called transparency rules...

What to Know About Red Flags, Notification Laws and the Hi Tech Act

Sep 21 2009 // Data breaches have hit an all time high and with that have been a dramatic increase in new data security and privacy laws and regulations. Both state and federal regulations have been in place for several years with...

North Carolina Coastal Broker Ready to Ride Beach Plan Reform Wave

Sep 21 2009 // The Web site for Hanover Excess (www.hanoverxs.com) proclaims that the people at this North Carolina excess and surplus brokerage believe in the “pursuit of excellence while keeping a sense of humor.”David...

Colorado’s Pinnacol Defends Actions

Sep 21 2009 // Executives from Colorado’s state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company defended themselves against accusations of lavish spending and excess profits during a legislative hearing and they told...

California Lawmaker Wants More Green Insurance Products

Sep 21 2009 // A bill recently introduced in California could encourage more ecologically friendly insurance policy products, putting the state again at the fore of pushing, and leading, for greener public policies.The bill, which has...

California Sets Rules for Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance

Sep 21 2009 // California has issued final pay-as-you-drive regulations, which will guide insurers offering consumers rates that are based on actual as opposed to estimated miles driven.The regulations allow insurers to offer discounts...

House Passes Surplus Lines Reform Legislation

Sep 21 2009 // The House of Representatives passed HR 2571, the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2009, on Sept. 9.The bill, authored by Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-N.J, will simplify the tax remittance and...

A.M. Best: New Regulations, Market Conditions and Financial Crisis Wreak Havoc on Workers’ Comp Line

Sep 21 2009 // Challenging market conditions, the financial crisis and the recession drove profitability downward for the U.S. workers’ compensation market in 2008.Changing regulatory conditions and reforms have also impacted the...