Regulation/Legislation

Legislation repealing the antitrust exemption afforded health insurers through the McCarran-Ferguson Act, but keeping the shield intact for medical malpractice carriers, was approved overwhelmingly last week by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Florida lawmakers face-off this session amid the continuing problems of budget deficits, high unemployment, and a sluggish economy -- along with growing disenchantment from voters.

The state's largest property insurer -- Citizens Property Insurance Corp. -- has found itself on the defensive once again in the last few months.

Missouri homeowners seeking earthquake insurance may face extremely large deductibles or have to leave their current homeowners insurance company in order to obtain it, a state official reported.

President Obama's proposal for a federal agency to regulate health insurance rates will in practice apply only in states where the regulators lack full rate review authority, state insurance regulators said.

A bill, with language supplied by an insurance trade group, to deregulate insurance rates for some commercial lines excluding those exposed to catastrophic risk, has been introduced in the Florida Senate.