Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Marsh Comments on Effect of EU’s ‘REACH’ Regulations

Mar 7 2007 // On 29 October 2003, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU regulatory framework for chemicals. The new system, dubbed REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of CHemicals), outlined a complex...

Legislation Creating Business Courts Clears Committee in Okla.

Mar 6 2007 // House GOP legislation that increases common sense practices in Oklahoma’s judicial system by creating special business courts passed a vote of the House Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, the state House of...

N.Y. Workers’ Comp Reform Sails Through Senate, Assembly

Mar 6 2007 // The New York State Senate and Assembly on Tuesday passed legislation its bipartisan backers hope will significantly reform the state’s workers’ compensation system and save employers as much as $1 billion.The...

Fla. Home Premiums Could Fall 10%-50% Under New Reinsurance Law

Mar 5 2007 // Florida homeowners could see average property insurance savings ranging from around 10 percent in the Panhandle to more than half the cost of their policy in South Florida because of a new law, state insurance officials...

Mass. Health Insurers Agree to Offer $175 a Month Plan Under New Law

Mar 5 2007 // The average uninsured Massachusetts residents could obtain health care coverage for as little as $175 a month under the state’s insurance law, Gov. Deval Patrick announced as he released the results of negotiations...

Ohio Legislators Challenge Governor’s Veto on Limits for Fraud Damages

Mar 2 2007 // Republican lawmakers had no legal authority to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to throw out a veto Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland carried out on his first day in office, the state’s top lawyer said this week.Attorney...

Rep. Frank Unveils Bill to Give Shareholders Vote on Executive Pay

Mar 2 2007 // House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, joined by 21 other members of Congress, today introduced legislation to require public companies to include in their annual proxies a non-binding advisory...

Judge Weighs Miss. Katrina Class Action, State Farm Settlement

Mar 2 2007 // A federal judge weighing competing plans to resolve thousands of disputed claims against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. after Hurricane Katrina heard emotional testimony Wednesday in Gulfport from Mississippi...

Marsh Sees ‘Demand Surge’ in Romania’s Compulsory D&O Law

Mar 2 2007 // “Changes to Romanian corporate law, making it compulsory for companies to purchase directors’ & officers’ liability insurance (D&O), are creating a surge in demand for cover,” according to...

Delaware Lawmakers Unveil New Bill to Ban Credit Scoring

Mar 2 2007 // Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn and legislators on Friday unveiled legislation to ban all use of credit scores in setting auto and homeowner insurance rates.Denn was joined by the prime sponsors of the bill...

New Mass. Commissioner Accustomed to Being the Judge

Mar 1 2007 // The new insurance commissioner for Massachusetts, who started on the job this week, thinks her years of experience in a judge’s robe will serve her well in her new role, one in which she sees herself as an arbiter of...

Judge Senter Won’t Remove Self from State Farm Class Action Case

Mar 1 2007 // A federal judge in Gulfport, Miss. has refused to disqualify himself from hearing a bid to certify a class-action lawsuit against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over the insurer’s handling of claims after Hurricane...

Ohio Attorney General Asks Judge to Order Marsh to Submit Documents

Mar 1 2007 // Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has asked a judge to order New-York based Marsh and McLennan to turn over documents Dann says the state is owed as part of an antitrust investigation.Dann says the company has impeded the...

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Insurer in Ark. Financier’s Death

Mar 1 2007 // A federal appeals court rejected an insurance company’s claim that it shouldn’t have to pay accidental-death benefits for the 2002 death of a Little Rock financier at the center of a Securities Department...

Calif. Commissioner Appoints Executive Team

Mar 1 2007 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has named his 14-member executive team at the Department of Insurance.Earlier in February, Poizner was criticized for naming insurance industry representative, Bill...

R.I. Judge Orders Cleanup by Former Lead Paint Manufacturers

Feb 28 2007 // A Rhode Island judge has ordered three former lead paint manufacturers to clean up contamination in Rhode Island and said he would appoint a special master to advise him on exactly what the companies should be required to...

Court Throws Out “Light” Cigarette Law Suits in La., Ill.

Feb 28 2007 // Suits filed against two cigarette makers over the marketing of “light” cigarettes have been thrown out by a federal appeals court.Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Mo. House Proposal Offers Broader Incentives for Long-term Care Insurance

Feb 28 2007 // The Missouri House gave initial approval earlier this week to a bill aimed at encouraging more Missourians to purchase long-term care insurance.The measure by Rep. Chuck Portwood, R-Ballwin, raises the income tax deduction...

Industry: Federal Terrorism Insurance Still Vital to National Security

Feb 28 2007 // Insurance industry advocates urged Congress today to ensure the availability of terrorism risk insurance through a continued federal government role and to examine long-term solutions before the current backstop...

R.I. Lawmaker Targets Hospital Errors

Feb 27 2007 // Between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die each year in U.S. hospitals because of mistakes, infections and other adverse situations. That’s more deaths than those caused by breast cancer, AIDS or car accidents.Most of...