Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Indiana Attorney General: New Law Protects Teachers from Lawsuits

Aug 18 2009 // Indiana teachers will be shielded from frivolous lawsuits filed over student-discipline disputes under the state’s new teacher-protection law being fully implemented in August, the Indiana Attorney General’s...

Michigan Halts Novus Surplus Lines Sales; Owner Defends Insurer

Aug 18 2009 // Michigan regulatory officials have charged an insurer and its managing general agency with fraud in the selling of surplus lines insurance.But the owner says his company that is in runoff has done nothing wrong. The Office...

Colorado Workers’ Compensation Insurer Pinnacol Defends Agent Perks

Aug 17 2009 // Colorado’s dominant workers compensation insurer last week defended its spending on travel and entertainment for its agents, telling Colorado lawmakers it’s good for morale and helps lower costs in the long...

New Louisiana Traffic Laws Aim for Seatbelt Use, Bicyclist Protection

Aug 17 2009 // Back seat passengers will have to buckle up, drivers will need to give a wider berth to bicyclists and slow-driving sightseers will need to stick to the right lane on Louisiana’s highways under the new state traffic...

Mississippi Commissioner Offers Alabama Advice on Coastal Insurance

Aug 14 2009 // The keys to holding down insurance premiums on the Alabama coast are strong enforcement of building codes, proper land use and mitigating homes against future disasters, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told...

Judge OKs $60M Lawsuit against Anna Nicole Smith Book Author

Aug 14 2009 // A New York judge says a jury can decide whether an author who wrote a best-selling book about Anna Nicole Smith’s death defamed her lawyer and companion.Federal Judge Denny Chin found plenty of reasons on Wednesday...

Federal Judge Dismisses Agents’ Lawsuit Against Brooke Corp.

Aug 14 2009 // A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing bankrupt Brooke Corp. and its financing arm of racketeering and fraud, saying the claims are not specific enough.Scores of insurance agents sued Overland Park, Kan.-based...

Florida Insurance Agents Say State’s Home Mitigation Effort Is Failing

Aug 13 2009 // Florida’s efforts to encourage homeowners to harden their homes to better withstand big storms by giving them insurance premium discounts is not getting the job done, according to a report from insurance agents in...

White House Seeks New Reins on Derivatives

Aug 13 2009 // The Obama administration this week sent Congress legislation seeking to impose broad new oversight on derivatives, the complex financial instruments blamed for hastening the global economic crisis.The plan is designed to...

Insurers in Crosshairs of U.S. Health Care Reformers

Aug 11 2009 // The debate over reforming the U.S. health care system has zeroed in on one main target: insurance companies.Democrats and the Obama administration plan to spend August battling to win popular support to expand health care...

Oklahoma Lawmakers Launch Study to Privatize Work Comp Insurer

Aug 7 2009 // A legislative task force has begun a study on how best to privatize CompSource Oklahoma, the agency that provides workers’ compensation insurance in the state.Members of a nine-member task force convened Aug 6. The...

Colorado Committee Evaluates State’s Workers’ Comp Insurer Pinnacol

Aug 5 2009 // A special committee of Colorado lawmakers is evaluating Pinnacol Assurance, to examine what role the state should have in managing the quasi-governmental workers’ compensation insurer’s business.Ken Ross,...

Regulatory Reform, Rewards for Quality Insurers Ahead, Says Chubb Exec

Aug 5 2009 // Skepticism over the financial condition of insurance companies is healthy and financially strong insurers stand to gain over weaker competitors in today’s market, an executive for a major property/casualty insurer...

North Carolina Senate Panel Approves Beach Plan Rescue

Aug 5 2009 // The North Carolina Senate Commerce Committee today passed legislation (HB 1305) to rescue the state’s underfunded coastal insurer, the Beach Plan.The bill, which already passed the House, will now bypass the finance...

California Releases New Draft of Pay-As-You-Drive Regulations

Aug 4 2009 // The California Department of Insurance has released a new draft of the Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) regulations, after receiving dozens of comments from consumer groups, the insurance industry and other invested parties, it...

Insurers See ‘Full Plate’ of Insurance Issues for Delaware Next Year

Aug 3 2009 // A trade group for insurance companies says Delaware lawmakers will have a “full plate” of legislative insurance issues when they reconvene next year.Among the big issues, according to the Property Casualty...

Cal/OSHA Moves to Strengthen Heat Illness Prevention Regulations

Aug 3 2009 // California’s Department of Industrial Relations’ (DIR) Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has filed a proposal with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to amend the...

State Farm Florida Withdrawal Plan May Go To Judge

Aug 3 2009 // After months of trying, Florida state officials and State Farm Florida have not been able to agree on the insurer’s plan for withdrawing from the state, so steps have been taken to have an administrative law judge...

States Give a ‘Thumbs Up’ to Fingerprinting Insurance Producers

Aug 3 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...

Colorado Workers’ Comp Insurer Wants to Go Private

Jul 31 2009 // The head of Colorado’s state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance fund says the company wants to go private.Ken Ross, president and chief executive of Pinnacol Assurance, told The Denver Post editorial...