Three bills have recently been filed in the Massachusetts legislature that would require motor vehicle insurers to pay a minimum hourly labor rate when reimbursing repair shops in the State. Identical bills by Rep. Cabral (H494) and Sen. Welch (S599) would create this minimum rate by using the average rate…

Read More Auto Labor Rate Legislation in Massachusetts

Beginning October 1, 2017, health insurers, health care centers, pharmacy benefits managers, and third party administrators that administer health benefits, and utilization of new companies, licensed in Connecticut, will be required to file their first annual certification to the insurance department that it maintains a comprehensive information security program in…

Read More Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements are Piling Up

The Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 released by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) on April 19, 2017 (“Act”) would have a significant impact on the extent to which the federal government regulates insurance. First and foremost, the Act would repeal the Federal Insurance Office and replace it with a bureau of the…
Read More Impact of the Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 on the Insurance Industry

Both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly have passed HB 7025, which would create a new legal process whereby a Connecticut domestic insurer could divide into multiple insurers and allocate assets and obligations to the “new” insurer. The new insurer would become a legal successor to the original insurer. HB…
Read More Connecticut General Assembly Passes Bill Authorizing Domestic Insurers to Divide

Several insurance related bills are currently pending in the Illinois General Assembly. A Senate passage deadline has been extended to May 5, 2017 for a bill requiring diversity reporting by insurers (Senate Bill 809) and a bill banning the use of credit information to calculate personal automobile insurance premiums (Senate…
Read More Insurance Related Legislation Pending in the Illinois General Assembly

The Texas Legislature is currently considering the authorization of domestic surplus lines insurance companies in Texas. If approved, Texas would join at least 10 other states with similar domestic surplus lines insurance company laws. The proposed legislation is currently working through the Texas House and Senate and appears to be…

Read More Texas Considers Domestic Surplus Lines Insurance Company Legislation

The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals has enforced a Travelers asbestos exclusion, finding it to be unambiguous. In General Refractories Co. v. First State Ins. Co., the court analyzed language that read: “It is agreed that this policy does not apply to [loss] arising out of asbestos…” General…

Read More 3rd Circuit Upholds Asbestos Exclusion Under Pennsylvania Law

An amendment to Illinois Senate Bill 809 proposes to add a new section to the Illinois Insurance Code (215 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/155.46) requiring insurance companies to submit supplier diversity reports. SB 809 is assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee. A Senate Insurance Committee hearing is scheduled for April 26…

Read More Illinois Proposed Senate Bill Amendment on Supplier Diversity Reporting

New York Associate Zach Lerner authored a Law360 article on group property and casualty insurance. Within the article, Lerner identifies some of the important issues for insurers and producers to consider, both in the admitted and surplus lines insurance markets, as to the regulation of LRRA and permissible state insurance…

Read More Group P&C Insurance: Admitted And Surplus Lines Issues

The Texas Legislature is considering legislation that would expressly permit service contracts to include the replacement of a motor vehicle key or key-fob. Specifically, Senate Bill 1263 and House Bill 2275 would redefine “service contract” in Texas Occupations Code section 1304.003 to include “the replacement of a motor vehicle key…
Read More Key-Fob Amendment to Texas Service Contract Law Considered by Legislature