Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Alabama’s Healthy Market Impresses Commissioner Bell

Aug 8 2005 // Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter A. Bell described his state’s insurance market as “impressive” and as a “healthy market, trending upward,” during the Alabama Independent Insurance...

Pa. Court Strikes Down 2002 Tort Reform Aimed at ‘Deep Pocket’ Rule

Aug 8 2005 // A Pennsylvania court has ruled unconstitutional a key component of tort reforms enacted in 2002. Commonwealth Court ruled that a measure that abolished joint and several liability is invalid because it was not germane to...

News Briefs

Aug 8 2005 // NationalPoll Reveals Americans’ Views on Aging: A poll by the MetLife Mature Market Institute conducted by Zogby International shows that 60 percent of Americans believe “old” is age 71 and over, but that...

Del. Restricts Homeowners Renewals, Requires ‘Gap’ Disclosure

Aug 7 2005 // Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matthew Denn wants to restrict insurers from canceling homeowners’ insurance policies because they have made a few claims and require insurers to more fully disclose to insureds...

ICT to Host Workers’ Comp Conference

Aug 4 2005 // The Insurance Council of Texas will host its 2005 Workers’ Compensation Conference in Austin on Sept. 7. State Representative Burt Solomons of Carrollton, author of House Bill 7, the sweeping workers’...

Record Turnout for ACIC’s General Counsel Seminar

Aug 2 2005 // The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) had a record turnout at its recently concluded XVI Annual General Counsel Seminar at the Wynn Hotel, according to ACIC President Sam Sorich.“More than 220...

Court Rules that Calif. Country Club Discriminated Against Lesbian Couple

Aug 2 2005 // California’s highest court ruled that country clubs must offer gay members who register as domestic partners the same discounts given to married ones – a decision that could apply to other businesses such as...

PIA of Fla. Plans September ‘Hurricane Lessons,’ Legislative Summary

Aug 1 2005 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Florida have scheduled four meetings in September during which it will presented morning “Hurricane Lessons” and an afternoon summary of Florida insurance regulations and...

Texas Tech Law School Releases ‘Legislative Intent Roadmap’ on 2003 Lawsuit Reforms

Aug 1 2005 // Texas Tech Law Review has issued a comprehensive overview of lawsuit reform measures passed in 2003. According to an announcement released by the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, the 357-page article, the culmination of...

N.Y. Raises Minimum Age for Boating Operators to 14

Jul 29 2005 // New York Gov. George Pataki has signed into law legislation intended to increase safety on New York’s waterways by increasing the minimum age of those allowed to operate personal watercraft to 14 years old.Current...

Congress Forwards President Bush Bill Designed to Boost Reporting of Medical Mistakes

Jul 29 2005 // A national system designed to increase reporting of medical errors has won final congressional approval and been sent to President Bush.It is estimated that more than 250 Americans die every day as a result of preventable...

Colorado Lawmakers Say They Have No Plans to Return to No-fault Auto

Jul 29 2005 // State lawmakers said July 27 they have no plans to return Colorado to no-fault auto insurance, but they questioned the savings claimed by state regulators in switching to a system that puts the financial burden for...

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Hit By Legal Expenses in 2nd Quarter

Jul 28 2005 // Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company, based in Richmond, Va., reported that for the second quarter, total revenues were $162.0 million, compared with $147.8 million a year ago, an increase of 9.7 percent.Commissions and fees...

AIA: CAFTA an Important Market-Opening Step

Jul 28 2005 // Congress took an important step toward opening the world’s insurance markets when it approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the American Insurance Association said Thursday.“Costa Rica, one...

Pa. Court Strikes Down ‘Deep Pockets’ Tort Reform

Jul 27 2005 // A Pennsylvania court has ruled unconstitutional a key component of tort reforms enacted in 2002. Commonwealth Court ruled that a measure that abolished joint and several liability is invalid because it was not germane to...

Calif. Trial Judge Rules Prop. 64 Is Not Retroactive In Case Against State Fund

Jul 27 2005 // A San Francisco trial court judge recently ruled in the case Palm Medical v. State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) that Prop. 64 is not retroactive, allowing the plaintiff to pursue injunctive relief on behalf the...

Greater N.Y. Mutual CEO Makes Case for Terror Coverage; NAMIC Suggests Britain’s Pool Re as Model

Jul 27 2005 // Warren Heck, chairman and chief executive officer of Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company in New York, N.Y., brought his company’s front line experience with terrorism risk before a House Financial Services...

Safety Groups Press for Rollover, Other Measures in Highway Bill

Jul 26 2005 // Safety advocates are urging lawmakers to include new automobile safety requirements in a long overdue highway bill.Among the issues they want addressed are ways to reduce deaths from accidents when vehicles roll over and...

Alliance Opposed to Proposed CDI “Agent Appointment” Regs

Jul 26 2005 // The American Agents Alliance has issued its official objections to the proposed regulations (file number RH 04037941), which were submitted on June 3, 2005. The Alliance believes the regs “do not meet the standards...

Vt. Volunteer Firefighters Left Out of Workers Comp Revision

Jul 25 2005 // Volunteer firefighters in Vermont say they were inappropriately left out of a new law that gave their full-time, professional colleagues benefits that they believe they also deserve.Passed on the final day of the session,...