Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Court Bans Using Discounts to Lure Longtime Auto Policy Customers

Oct 17 2005 // A California state appeals court has struck down a law that could have resulted in higher auto insurance rates for many low-income motorists and discouraged uninsured drivers from getting coverage.A three-judge panel of...

JUDGE THROWS OUT $700 MILLION JURY AWARD IN EXECUTIVE LIFE SUIT

Oct 17 2005 // A federal judge has thrown out a $700 million (euro586 million) award for punitive damages won by the state of California in a lawsuit stemming from the takeover of failed insurer Executive Life by French investors.U.S....

SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS AUTO INSURANCE, SAFETY LEGISLATION

Oct 17 2005 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed several bills dealing with automobile insurance and safety. SB 20 legislation will extend a low-cost auto insurance program through 2011. SB 150 requires insurance companies...

Gubernatorial Hopefuls in New York: Spitzer vs. Weld

Oct 17 2005 // New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has made a name for himself exposing fraudulent and anti-competitive business practices in the securities, mutual fund and insurance industries. Now he is running for governor in New...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // MASSACHUSETTSAll Signs Point Down: Massachusetts auto rates will be going down in 2006, although by how much is not yet known. Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler received her third recommendation, this one calling for...

DFS Spokesperson Outlines Fla. Agency Licensing Requirement Changes

Oct 17 2005 // Changes in Florida’s legislation during the spring session and new administrative changes requiring agency licensure or registration were described by Hazel Muhammad, bureau chief of Agent and Agen-cy Licensing with...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // ArkansasEmployment up in Ark. A recent report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed that employment in Ar-kansas is at a high point-1.1734million-but warned that hurricane refugees could strain state...

Ethical Business Practices Essential to Success in Today’s Marketplace

Oct 17 2005 // Many insurance companies are discovering a basic truth. Integrity in business is more than just the right thing to do-it is critical to success in an increasingly complex and dynamic marketplace.When I look at where we are...

Court Bans Using Discounts to Lure Longtime Auto Policy Customers

Oct 17 2005 // A California state appeals court has struck down a law that could have resulted in higher auto insurance rates for many low-income motorists and discouraged uninsured drivers from getting coverage.A three-judge panel of...

WCIRB Survey Indicates California Workers’ Comp Reform is Working

Oct 17 2005 // State workers’ compensation claims and disability costs have dropped significantly since California’s workers’ compensation system was overhauled in 2003 and 2004, according to the Workers’...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // CaliforniaJudge throws out $700 million jury award in Executive Life Suit A federal judge has thrown out a $700 million (euro586 million) award for punitive damages won by the state of California in a lawsuit stemming from...

Reputation, Regulation and Recruitment Focus of U.K. Conference

Oct 17 2005 // Pulling Together” was the overall theme of the United Kingdom’s Chartered Insurance Institute’s Annual Conference, which concluded Sept. 23 in London. However, the “Three Re’s” took an...

California Supreme Court Upholds Insurance Commissioner’s Authority

Oct 14 2005 // The California Supreme Court ordered to “de-publish” a Court of Appeal ruling — AIA vs. Garamendi — often touted by insurance companies as limiting the regulatory authority of the Insurance...

Federal Judge: Segal Mentally Competent to be Sentenced

Oct 13 2005 // A federal judge has ruled that jailed Illinois insurance mogul Michael “Mickey” Segal has the mental competency needed to be sentenced.Segal was found guilty of stealing more than $30 million from a trust fund...

Loss Reserves, Risk Transfer, Reg Capital Models Among Topics at CAS Meeting in November

Oct 13 2005 // Facts and perceptions regarding loss reserves, adequate risk transfer for reinsurance accounting, and developments in regulatory capital models around the world will be featured topics during the Annual Meeting of the...

NAMIC Not Part of Group Submitting Alternate Proposal to NAIC on SOX-Like Internal Control

Oct 13 2005 // Maintaining its position that such measures are unwarranted for mutual insurers, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) was reportedly not part of an industry interested parties’ group...

Gay Partner Can’t Sue Hospital for Malpractice, N.Y. Appeals Court Rules

Oct 13 2005 // A New York Appeals Court has ruled that the same sex partner of a man who died after surgery related to injuries suffered in a car accident does not have standing to sue the hospital for malpractice under state law.The 3-2...

Mass. Lawmakers Promise Health Insurance Plan By Next Month

Oct 12 2005 // House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi vowed to deliver a bill dramatically expanding health care coverage to the uninsured in Massachusetts but shied away from offering specifics.DiMasi said the bill, which he promised to place...

National Banks Hail Court Win Vs. Spitzer Affirming Federal Regulation

Oct 12 2005 // National bankers today hailed a ruling that upholds the federal government’s role as the primary regulator of national banks.In Office of the Comptroller of the Currency v. Eliot Spitzer, the U.S. district court for...

NAIC Market Analysts ‘Mars’ Now Available for State Market Analysts

Oct 11 2005 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) announced that the Market Analysis Review System (MARS) is now available for use by all state market analysts.This technological enhancement, which reflects...