MINN. LEGISLATURE PASSES FRAUD, TORT REFORM BILLS:

The 2004 Minnesota legislative session adjourned on May 16, with several insurance-related bills signed into law, and a fraud bill now on the governor’s desk, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). The insurance bills that have been signed into law include: HF 425, which helps insurers deal with frivolous class-action lawsuits by limiting appeal bond amounts to the actual amount of the judgment, with a $150 million cap; HF 2444, which deals with legal causes of action arising outside of Minnesota; and HF 2017, which allows the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association to issue medical malpractice insurance policies on a primary basis to nursing facility applicants and other long-term care provider applicants. Bills that have been presented to the governor for signature include: HF 2640, which establishes the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention to conduct investigations and make arrests in relation to the enforcement of Minnesota insurance fraud law; HF 2175, mandating a study on dentist and podiatrist malpractice, and requiring the Board of Dentistry to make recommendations to the legislature on proof of malpractice insurance and determining whether a minimum amount of insurance should be required for licensure; SF 1922, which prohibits insurers from refusing to renew, or declining to offer or write, homeowners insurance coverage solely to properties housing day care services for up to five children; SF 2620, which clarifies the language regulating notice requirements in the event that a standard fire insurance policy is declined.