Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Declarations

Dec 11 2006 // Are the elves at work? “Just because it’s close to Christmas doesn’t mean the governor has to be Santa Claus. That’s not what the special session should be.”— Louisiana State Rep. Steve...

Conn. agents could face fight on contingent pay

Dec 11 2006 // Insurance executives would likely create a replacement incentive should lawmakers in Connecticut ban contingent commissions, as the state regulator has warned could happen.Executives voiced their dismay over possible...

Declarations

Dec 10 2006 // Are the elves at work?“Just because it’s close to Christmas doesn’t mean the governor has to be Santa Claus. That’s not what the special session should be.” — Louisiana State Rep. Steve...

Dec 10 2006 // PeopleThe Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. announced the election of the following officers and directors: President Len Kaplan, executive vice president and CFO, Delta General Agency, Houston; Vice President Lana...

Declarations

Dec 10 2006 // Are the elves at work?“Just because it’s close to Christmas doesn’t mean the governor has to be Santa Claus. That’s not what the special session should be.” — Louisiana State Rep. Steve...

La. Lawmakers See Little Hope for Insurance Reform

Dec 8 2006 // Louisiana lawmakers will debate changes to state insurance laws beginning Dec. 8, but several said there’s little chance of passing major initiatives to address the problems homeowners face in finding and affording...

La. Legislative Panel Adds $1.6B to Budget but Stalls on $827M

Dec 7 2006 // Louisiana’s budget has been boosted by $1.6 billion, money lawmakers can spend in a special session scheduled to start Dec. 8. But the Senate president blocked attempts to enrich financial forecasts by another $827...

N.D. Senators Ask for Dismissal of Workers’ Comp Director

Dec 6 2006 // More than a dozen Democratic state legislators have signed a letter asking for the dismissal of North Dakota’s workers’ compensation director. The director, Sandy Blunt, said he will not resign, and the...

La. Gov. Presses Ahead with Special Session for Dec. 8-17

Dec 5 2006 // Despite calls to cancel, Gov. Kathleen Blanco issued her formal plan Dec. 2 to bring lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special legislative session to spend as much as $2 billion in new state dollars on pay raises, tax...

Insurers Get Serious About Enterprise Risk Management, Tillinghast Reports

Dec 5 2006 // Driven in part by increased demands from regulatory and rating agencies, enterprise risk management (ERM) has become integral to insurers’ business processes around the world. Sixty percent of survey respondents...

California To Rule on Industry Petition Becoming “Precedential Decision”

Dec 5 2006 // The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has decided to accept a petition filed by Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) requesting review of the former Insurance Commissioner John Garmendi’s...

Insurer Group to La. Lawmakers: Avoid Hasty Decision-Making

Dec 4 2006 // Louisiana’s special legislative session begins Dec. 8 and insurers are urging lawmakers to exercise caution in when it comes to making decisions regarding solutions to insurance issues or how to spend the...

Judge Upholds $1 Million Workers Comp Fine in The Station Case

Dec 4 2006 // A judge last week upheld a $1.07 million fine imposed against the owners of The Station nightclub for failing to carry workers’ compensation insurance at the club, the site of a 2003 fire that killed 100 people,...

Mich. Bill Would Give Discounts to Seniors Taking Drivers Ed Class

Dec 4 2006 // When Michigan retirees Willie and Lois Gales asked for a way to ease a $200 increase in their auto insurance rate, they ended up at a two-day safety class in Detroit designed for older drivers.They got tips to prepare for...

Little Rate Relief Found First Year After N.J. Auto Reforms

Dec 4 2006 // A year after New Jersey enacted auto insurance regulation changes meant to reduce rates, state residents were still paying through the nose, according to the latest survey compiled by the National Association of Insurance...

Senate Will Make Last-Ditch Effort for Disaster Dollars

Nov 30 2006 // Farm-state senators will make a last-ditch effort this week to pass agricultural disaster assistance, though it’s unlikely it will become law before the new year.North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, both...

Judge Rules in Favor of Plaintiffs in New Orleans Canal Case

Nov 29 2006 // In a decision that could cost insurers many more billions of dollars than they have already paid out in Hurricane Katrina claims, a federal judge in New Orleans has ruled that ambiguities in certain homeowners policies...

Court Rules Estate Not Entitled to Workers’ Comp Benefits

Nov 29 2006 // The Second Appellate Court of California has ruled in Six Flags Inc. vs. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, et. al. that it is unconstitutional to award a $250,000 worker’s compensation death benefit to the...

Regulators Install Management Committee for Interstate Compact

Nov 27 2006 // The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners installed its Management Committee and elected a Committee chair, vice-chair and treasurer recently...

La. Gov. Pushing Insurance, Tax Credits, Pay Raises in Special Session

Nov 22 2006 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the costs of her special session agenda of tax breaks, pay raises and insurance relief could be covered by an expected $800 million jump in state income this year – on top of an...