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Copper Theft Bill in South Carolina

A SC bill designed to curb thieves from ripping copper from air-conditioning units and farm irrigation systems is heading to Gov. Nikki Haley. The Senate voted 39-1 this week to agree to changes made in the House. The amended bill bans cash sales for copper and requires both the seller and recycler to obtain permits from local law enforcement. It requires metal recyclers to record information on the sale, including the seller’s photograph, a copy of the permit and the license plate number. The bill’s supporters say thieves are destroying property for a few dollars’ worth of copper. Law enforcement… Read More »Copper Theft Bill in South Carolina

Which Insurance Company Should Pay for Expenses?

A Colorado Court of Appeal has ruled that an insurer cannot file suit against another insurer for its failure to cancel a policy. According to court documents in First Comp Insurance v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office of the State of Colorado, First Comp Insurance asked the court to review the finding of an administrative law judge that it was liable for funeral expenses arising out of a workplace fatality because Pinnacol Assurance, the insurer for the decedent’s direct employer, failed to properly cancel the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. According to court documents, when an employer was fatally injured in the… Read More »Which Insurance Company Should Pay for Expenses?

Commercial Insurance Rates Will Go Up in Florida

Commercial insurers in Florida will have more freedom in setting rates. The Florida legislature approved CS/HB 99 that expands the list of commercial lines policies that insurers could set rates without seeking prior approval from the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation. Property Casualty Insurers Association of America assistant vice president and regional manager for Florida said: “This bill makes Florida a much more attractive place for commercial insurers to do business and create jobs. We commend the legislation and ask Gov. Scott to sign it and enact it into law.” Paperless Comment: although market should regulate itself, leaving the rates… Read More »Commercial Insurance Rates Will Go Up in Florida

New Florida Discovery Rules

How many good news from Florida have we seen lately, particularly in the area of bad faith litigation. Not too many… However, the Florida Supreme Court has declared that the liberal rules that it adopted a few years ago requiring disclosure of work product in first party bad faith cases does not apply with respect to attorney-client privileged communications. In connection with evaluating the obligation to process claims in good faith under Section 624.155, all materials, including documents, memoranda, and letters, contained in the underlying claim and related litigation file material that was created up to and including the date… Read More »New Florida Discovery Rules

Property Insurance Reform in Florida

Homeowners’ insurers in Florida are breathing a sigh of relief after succeeding in a months-long battle to obtain property insurance reforms designed to reduce costs and stabilize the market. After watching state lawmakers refuse to rewrite the state’s no-fault automobile injury law and leave by the wayside a plan to revamp the state-run property insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the industry found itself in the last week of the session betting all of its chips on the property bill, hoping that the “most business friendly” legislature in decades would finally deliver. In the closing days of Florida’s legislative session, lawmakers… Read More »Property Insurance Reform in Florida

Proposed Insurance Disclosure Notice in California

California legislators are considering whether to allow certain insurance policies and  disclosures to be consolidated into one document, printed in smaller type. Currently, the  law requires an insurer, upon receiving notice of a claim, to immediately, but not more than 15 calendar days after receipt, provide the insured with a legible reproduction of the specified Insurance Code section, in at least 12-point type, detailing acts prohibited as unfair trade practices, and a written notice, as specified. SB 596 would require that the contents of the written notice be changed and be in at least 10-point type. The bill also would… Read More »Proposed Insurance Disclosure Notice in California

Please do not vote to eliminate the ADHC benefit for the frail elderly.

Dear friend, We need your help today. ADHC ELIMINATION PROPOSAL – MAKE TELEPHONE CALLS TODAY! The full Senate and Assembly Budget Committees will take up the ADHC elimination proposal Friday, February 18. The agenda is not yet available but we know the hearings will begin at 9:00 AM. There is no public testimony. We need to generate as many telephone calls today as possible to the Budget Committee members and Leadership offices. The call should only be 15-30 seconds so the next person has a chance to call in. Make sure you identify you are a constituent if your legislator is on one of the committees.… Read More »Please do not vote to eliminate the ADHC benefit for the frail elderly.

No Rough Approximations in Michigan

Should I avoide going to Michigan? Probably yes… But should I ever have to go to Bay City, MI –  I’d better have my GPS on at all times. Or something bad can happen to me – like with Bay City, MI resident, who tripped and fell on a sidewals and has lost his lawsuit against the city because he gave the wrong location. He trip and fall and informed the city of the bad sidewalk, but the case was rejected because he said that the accident occurred on NE corner, where it was actually on NW corner. The court of appeal dissmissed the case, saying:… Read More »No Rough Approximations in Michigan

How to Reduce Drunk Driving

Presently, Texas State law does require that interlock devices be installed in the vehicles of drivers convicted of two or more DUIs, or those that have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more —  nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. New Bill, introduced recently, require that all persons convicted of driving while intoxicated have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle. Studies have shown that requiring the use of ignition interlock devices can reduce repeat drunk driving offenses by 64%. Currently 8 states mandate the use of ignition interlock devices for all drivers convicted of driving while… Read More »How to Reduce Drunk Driving

Pinnacol Tax Heaven is not Over

Colorado law makers are thinking to take away some tax exemptions for Pinnacol Assurance. The Budget Committee decided last week to draft the legislation. The decision follows the release of documents showing that the state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company spent more than $300K on a trip to Pebble Beach, Calif.. Hey, why not, if Pinnacol pays no state or federal taxes. It operates largely like a private insurer but it must provide insurance to any company that can’t get coverage elsewhere. Some of the proposals are to continue to exempt Pinnacol from taxes on those last-resort polices but Pinnacol would have to start… Read More »Pinnacol Tax Heaven is not Over