Government Affairs

With the balance of power in both chambers of U.S. Congress in play, the Big “I” government affairs team breaks down what to expect on election day.

FEMA’s decision to sell policies directly to consumers raises questions about the federal government’s role in insurance distribution and could bypass agents and Write-Your-Own carriers.

The U.S. Senate bill now heads back to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it will need to be reconciled with the similar House bill that makes structural changes to the program.

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would make staging motor vehicle accidents for insurance payments a federal crime.

The Big “I” supports a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP and recognizes the importance of a modernized program to increase take-up rates in both the NFIP and the private market.

After years of rising insurance costs driven in part by legal system abuse, litigation financing and nuclear verdicts, tort reform is beginning to translate into lower premiums, rate reductions and direct savings for consumers.

The bill would help deter insurance fraud, reduce unnecessary litigation costs and ease the pressure of rising insurance premiums.

The bill would reauthorize the program for an additional seven years, raise the minimum loss threshold and require the Treasury Secretary to publish a notice in the Federal Register within 30 days of initiating the terrorism determination process.

North Carolina has taken a groundbreaking step in the fight against legal system abuse by becoming the first state in the nation to prohibit third-party litigation financing.