Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Judge Declines to Dismiss Class-Action Suit Against New Hampshire Gun Manufacturer

Mar 27 2020 // A judge has denied a motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against New Hampshire based gun manufacturer SIG Sauer.Judge Joseph Laplante found Monday that Derick Ortiz, who filed the lawsuit in September, had adequately...

New York Court Rules Gig Drivers Are Employees Eligible for Unemployment Benefits

Mar 27 2020 // Drivers for the online food delivery service Postmates Inc. are employees who are eligible for state unemployment insurance, New York’s top court has ruled.The ruling upsets the “gig” business model of...

Oil Industry Seeks Easing of Environmental Regulation During Pandemic

Mar 26 2020 // The Environmental Protection Agency said this week that it’s reviewing a request from the oil and gas industry to ease enforcement of hazardous air and water pollution and other regulatory issues during the...

How Policy Silence on Pandemics May Bedevil Insurers on Coronavirus Claims

Mar 26 2020 // Silence may be deadly for property/casualty insurers writing commercial insurance, an executive of an insurtech that specializes in analyzing insurance policy language suggested recently, explaining that without specific...

How East Insurance Regulators Are Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Mar 25 2020 // As insurers continue to monitor the spread and impact of COVID-19, insurance regulators across the East region of the U.S. are issuing guidance on how the industry can respond.“There is almost no aspect of the...

What State Insurance Regulators Have Asked of P/C Insurers to Address Coronavirus

Mar 25 2020 // As state insurance regulators monitor and respond to the coronavirus impact on insurance, property/casualty insurers are calling on them to coordinate their requests for data and ease up on some requirements.David A....

Ban on Holding Cellphone While Driving Begins July 1 in Indiana

Mar 23 2020 // Drivers will be banned from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads starting in July under legislation Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law to combat distracted driving.Holcomb signed the measure on March 18, making...

Wisconsin High Court Rules Against Farm Over Pay for Time Workers Spend Dressing

Mar 23 2020 // Workers can’t negotiate away their right to compensation for time spent donning and removing protective gear, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a long-running legal battle between a Jefferson County farm and its...

Nicolopoulos Confirmed as New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner

Mar 23 2020 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department has announced that Chris Nicolopoulos was confirmed by the New Hampshire Executive Council as insurance commissioner succeeding John Elias, who resigned in December less than two...

Lighthouse to Acquire Prepared Insurance of Florida

Mar 23 2020 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. plans to acquire its sister carrier, Prepared Insurance Company (Prepared), from Prepared Holdings Group.Lighthouse is a Louisiana-domiciled property and casualty insurance carrier...

Pressure Builds on Insurers to Be Part of Coronavirus Business Solution

Mar 20 2020 // While legislators in Washington and states try to fashion financial relief for businesses interrupted by the public health actions related to coronavirus, outside pressure is mounting on private property/casualty...

Insurers Reject House Members’ Request to Cover Uninsured COVID Business Losses

Mar 20 2020 // A bipartisan group of U.S. House members has asked insurers to retroactively recognize financial losses relating to COVID-19 under commercial business interruption coverage for policyholders.Eighteen House members made...

Southeast Insurance Regulators Issue Industry Guidance for Coronavirus Outbreak

Mar 20 2020 // Insurance departments across the Southeast are notifying industry representatives of updated procedures and expectations in response to the coronavirus outbreak, while also acknowledging the potential for a serious impact...

Judge Warns of Jury Harassment, Intimidation in N.C. Insurance Bribery Case

Mar 20 2020 // A federal judge on Wednesday ordered two men convicted of trying to bribe a North Carolina insurance regulator not to contact jurors from their recently completed trial after learning a consultant attempted to do so on...

Analyst Says Specialty P/C Insurers More Likely to See Business Interruption Losses

Mar 19 2020 // The original property/casualty insurance industry reaction that business interruption losses may be modest may have been too optimistic, according to a leading insurance analyst.KBW’s Meyer Shields believes that the...

Proposed N.J. Bill Would Require Insurers to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

Mar 19 2020 // A proposed New Jersey bill, which aims to create business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19 related claims despite virus exclusions in many policies, has drawn concern about the constitutionality of legislation...

Some Telemedicine Regulations Waived in Texas in Effort to Expand Access

Mar 18 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued an emergency rule aimed at helping doctors across the state to continue treating patients during the crisis created by COVID-19, the disease stemming from the new...

Southern States Challenged by Increasing Acceptance of Medical Marijuana

Mar 17 2020 // Facing a potentially historic vote on whether to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, Republican lawmaker John Schickel is conflicted.A retired law enforcement officer, Schickel once steadfastly opposed medical...

PG&E Approved by Judge for $23B Bankruptcy Financing Package

Mar 16 2020 // Power producer PG&E Corp. said on Monday that it won bankruptcy court approval to use up to $23 billion in financing after California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped his opposition to those financing commitments.The U.S....

Alabama Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

Mar 16 2020 // A medical marijuana bill cleared its first floor vote Thursday in the Alabama Legislature as advocates hope to make headway after years of setbacks.The Alabama Senate vote 22-10 for the bill by Republican Sen. Tim Melson...