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On May 19, 2026, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Substitute House Bill No. 5373, “An Act Concerning the Insurance Department’s Recommendations for Revisions to the Insurance Statutes” (the Act), which became Public Act No. 26-69. The Act represents a broad amendment to the Connecticut Insurance Code including amending, among others, statutes regulating service of process, license suspension, and premium tax assessments. The most consequential change for the surplus lines market is the amendment of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 38a-741(b) effective October 1, 2026, which repeals Connecticut’s longstanding diligent-effort (also referred to as “diligent search”) requirement for surplus lines placements and replaces it with an annual reporting regime administered by the insurance commissioner.

Read More Connecticut Moves Beyond Diligent Effort: HB 5373

On May 21, a panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services on whether text messages are covered as “telephone calls” in § 227(c)(5) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). While questions asked by judges during oral arguments are no guarantee of how the court will ultimately rule, Judge Thomas K. Kirsch II and Judge Doris L. Pryor appeared skeptical of the plaintiff’s position that Congress intended “telephone call” to include text messaging in 1991. Judge Nancy L. Maldonado did not ask any questions. While we will need to wait for the decision, there is an excellent chance that the panel will hold that plaintiffs cannot sue over marketing text messages under § 227(c)(5), creating a potential circuit split with the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Howard v. Republican National Committee that will need to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read More Reading the Tea Leaves: Text Messages May Not Be TCPA Calls in the Seventh Circuit

Industry veteran Andrew Norton was appointed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) as captive insurance specialist in April 2026, following the departure of Robert Rudnai. Norton has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry and in this role will support the TDI’s regulatory oversight of Texas’ expanding captive insurance market.

Read More Andrew Norton Appointed Captive Insurance Specialist for the Texas Department of Insurance

On April 20, 2026, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) announced that it has submitted its Intervenor and Administrative Hearing Bureau Fairness and Accountability rulemaking package to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for final review. CDI describes this package as the most significant modernization of California’s intervenor system since Proposition 103 was enacted in 1988.

Read More California Intervenor Reforms Move to Final Review as CDI Submits Proposition 103 Rulemaking

On February 9, 2026, the House of Representatives, in a bipartisan vote, approved H.R. 3682. This bill would place additional guardrails on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in designating insurance companies as systemically important financial institutions (SIFI). The FSOC was established in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, to identify risks to financial stability, promote market discipline, and respond to emerging threats to financial stability. A key authority of the FSOC is its ability to designate nonbank financial institutions as SIFIs.

Read More Bill to Limit Classification of Insurers as ‘Systemically Important’ Receives Bipartisan Approval by the House

Amanda Crawford was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott in January 2026 to serve as the new commissioner of insurance for the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), officially stepping into the role on February 3. She succeeds Cassie Brown, who retired after leading TDI for four years.

Read More Amanda Crawford was appointed as the new Commissioner of Insurance for the Texas Department of Insurance

This article was originally published on Insurance Business UK and is republished here with permission as it originally appeared on December 23, 2025.

It’s a tale as old as time: A U.S. insurance broker wants to place bespoke coverage for its U.S. client. Sometimes, it’s a layer within a commercial tower. Perhaps there are some participating admitted (licensed) U.S. carriers, mixed in with an array of eligible surplus lines insurers. But alas, satisfying all layers through the admitted and surplus lines markets proves allusive, so the broker approaches an unauthorized carrier in Bermuda, a European country, or another non-U.S. jurisdiction. It makes sense, right? The broker tried its best to find coverage another way, and it wants to do right by its client.

Read More UK, Bermuda and EU Markets: For US Business, Ditch Direct Procurement, Go Surplus Lines

What Happened

In a press release published August 25, New York Senators James Skoufis, Jamaal Bailey, and Brian Kavanagh announced a joint investigation into residential property insurance. The purpose of the investigation is “to identify the causes of reported increases in premiums and other obstacles to insuring new and existing single- and multi-family homes, including those occupied by homeowners and renters, and to identify legislation and policy changes that New York State should implement.”

Read More New York Legislators Investigate Residential Property Insurance

On August 1, 2025, Governor JB Pritzker approved Senate Bill No. 1289, amending the definition of “home state” as it relates to more than one unaffiliated insured from a group and named as insureds on a single surplus lines insurance contract. Prior to the enactment of the bill, if…

Read More Illinois Amends the Definition of “Home State” for Unaffiliated Groups Under Its Surplus Lines Laws