Category(s): National - 05/21/2025

According to sources, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has halted preparatory
work for a planned FloodSmart Re Ltd. Series 2025-1 catastrophe bond issuance, which we’re told is a consequence of the oversight and focus on government agencies instigated by the new U.S. Administration. Click here to read more.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): National - 05/22/2025

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas FORTIFIED Fund Grant Program is in its third year of operation. This year, $10 million was allocated to the program providing grants through FHLB Dallas members to assist income-qualified homeowners in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas in funding storm-resistant roofs designed to prevent damage during extreme weather. FHLB Dallas began accepting grant applications on April 15. As of May 2,  $6,456,966 remained available. Click here to read more.

Robert B. House, Esq. - JONES WALKER LLP, (601) 949-4830 , rhouse@joneswalker.com

Category(s): National - 05/21/2025

The NAIC Capital Adequacy Task Force is considering a proposal that would discourage the release of risk-based capital ratios. Ohio regulators have called for prohibiting any insurer from putting its RBC ratio in its earnings-related press releases, webcast materials, or presentations. Click here to read more.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Arizona - 05/23/2025

On May 7, 2025, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2193 into law after the bill passed in the Arizona legislature in late April. HB 2193 amends the captive insurer section of the Insurance Code by reducing the minimum capital and surplus requirements for protected cell captive insurers to $250,000 and changing the due date for a captive insurer’s annual license renewal fee to a date not earlier than July 1 nor later than September 1. HB 2193 permits dormant captive insurers with no outstanding liabilities to apply for a certificate of dormancy which, once issued by the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, remains valid for a renewable five-year term. To qualify as a dormant captive insurer, the entity must have both: “(i) ceased transactions in the business of insurance, including issuing insurance policies; (ii) no outstanding liabilities associated with the business of insurance or has not issued any insurance policy before filing an application for a certificate of dormancy.” Dormant captive insurers still have financial reporting obligations and must maintain an unimpaired, paid-in capital and surplus of at least $125,000. The bill also cleans up statutory references to the corporate governance structure of captive insurers operating as LLCs. HB 2193 is expected to take effect in August or September of 2025.  Click here to read more.

Tasha N. Cycholl, Esq. - Husch Blackwell, (480) 824-7958 , tasha.cycholl@huschblackwell.com

Category(s): Arizona - 05/22/2025

The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) has issued a draft bulletin concerning its recent communication concerning the regulation of service contract coverages in personal auto and homeowners’ policies and its proposed regulation of entities it believes are acting as advisory organizations. The draft bulletin is available at this link, and feedback was being sought through April 25, 2025. Once DIFI issues its final bulletin, it will seek industry feedback to arrive at a solution, which may involve pursuing legislative amendments during the 2026 legislative session, to address these issues. In connection with the bulletin, DIFI will be pausing regulatory action through December 31, 2026.

Jennifer L. Kraham, Esq. - KUTAK ROCK LLP, (480) 429-4835 , Jennifer.Kraham@kutakrock.com
Kathy A. Steadman, Esq. - Kutak Rock LLP, 480-429-4893 , Kathy.Steadman@kutakrock.com

Category(s): Florida - 05/22/2025

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) called for the data from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which act as third-party intermediaries between pharmacies, insurance companies or employers and drug manufacturers. PBMs also determine which medications will be covered by health insurance plans, as well as the cost of prescriptions. Click here to read more.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Florida - 05/22/2025

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kaylee Tuck and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, aims to limit deceptive practices that have been reported in pet wellness programs. Pet insurance agents will be barred from marketing wellness programs as pet insurance and they cannot make a wellness program a prerequisite to the purchase of insurance. Click here to read more.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Georgia - 05/22/2025

On February 20, 2025, Commissioner John F. King issued Directive 25-EX-1 to inform Georgia health insurers that, as of March 1, 2025, the requirements for providing the CATCH Report to the Commissioner have been updated. This report is necessary to demonstrate compliance with O.C.G.A. § 33-20E-24. Insurers must file their reports with the Georgia Department of Insurance annually by March 1. All insurers offering health plans in Georgia should refer to the Directive for the updated definitions, requirements, and filing instructions. Find Directive here to read more.

Tony Roehl, Esq. - BAKER HOSTETLER LLP, (404) 256-8419 , troehl@bakerlaw.com

Category(s): Georgia - 05/23/2025

SB 68 (Georgia Tort Reform, signed by Governor on April 21, 2025) - Will provide major reforms to Georgia tort law, which is expected to insure to the benefit of property and casualty insurers transacting business in the state and includes the following changes designed to curtail insurance claims’ frequency and severity:
Premises Liability: Lowers the standard of care for landowners and their security contractors as to the "foreseeability" of crime, creates new defenses, and requires reasonable allocation of fault with primary tortfeasors.
Seatbelt Evidence Permitted: Defendants in automobile accidents may inform a jury whether the plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt at the time of an accident as evidence of negligence, comparative negligence, apportionment of fault and any other purpose.
Phantom Damages: Defendants may inform a jury of a plaintiff’s actual, itemized medical costs rather than the undiscounted amount charged by a healthcare provider.
Anchoring: Limits a lawyer's ability to argue the value of non-economic damages (i.e., pain and suffering) when asking a jury to award certain damage amounts.
Civil Procedure Rules: Defendants may move to dismiss a complaint instead of answering it, which can help defendants postpone or limit discovery costs; Plaintiffs can no longer freely dismiss and refile complaints; Trials may be bifurcated to keep prejudicial evidence about damages out of the liability stage of a case; Double-recovery of attorney's fees is no longer permitted. Click here to read more.

SB 5 (Healthcare Claims Prior Authorizations) - Will require health insurers that use prior authorizations for determinations of whether a healthcare service is a covered benefit to implement and maintain a program allowing for the selective reduction in prior authorization requirements based a healthcare provider’s performance and adherence to evidence-based medicine, which program must promote quality, affordable healthcare, and reduce unnecessary burdens on both health insurers and healthcare providers. No later than July 1, 2026, health insurers must file their initial prior authorization programs with the Georgia Insurance Department and annually thereafter. Click here to read more. 

SB 35 (Increased Number of Days of Non-Renewal Notices for Property Insurance Policies) - Will increase the minimum number of days of prior notice required to be given by an insurer to a policyholder for the non-renewal of a property insurance policy under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-46(d)(1) from thirty (30) days to sixty (60) days. Click here to read more. 

SB 69 (Litigation Funding; signed by Governor on April 21, 2025) - Will enact the "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act", which (i) requires prescribed language in litigation financing contracts between litigation financiers and plaintiffs, (ii) requires litigation financiers to register with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, (iii) prohibits litigation financiers from directing litigation strategy, offering commissions or referral fees for new clients, and recovering more from a lawsuit than the plaintiffs themselves, and (iv) bans litigation funding from sources in countries that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has designated as foreign adversaries. Click here to read more.

SB 109 (Service Members Group Life Insurance) - Will prohibit a group life insurance policy covering service members from excluding or restricting liability for coverage of a service member for death occurring while the insured is a service member of the U.S. regular or reserved armed forces if death is not a result of war, whether declared or undeclared, or any act or hazard of war. Click here to read more.

SB 121 (Minimum Limits for Auto Insurance for DUI Convictions) - Will require an increase of minimum coverage required under a motor vehicle liability policy for a driver convicted of (i) a first offense driving under the influence with a blood alcohol count of .08 grams or higher, or other intoxicating substances, with minimum limits of liability of (a) $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of any one person in any one accident, (b) $100,000 for bodily injury to or death of all persons in any one accident and (c) $50,000 for loss of, damage to, or destruction of property in any one accident and (ii) a subsequent offense of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol count of .08 grams or higher, or other intoxicating substances, with minimum limits of liability of (a) $100,000 for bodily injury to or death of any one person in any one accident, (b) $300,000 for bodily injury to or death of all persons in any one accident and (c) $100,000 for loss of, damage to, or destruction of property in any one accident. Click here to read more.

SB 201 (Unfair Trade Practices of Residential Home Contractors and Assignment of Homeowners Insurance Proceeds) - Will amend O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393 of Georgia’s General Unfair Trade Practices Act with respect to a contractor that enters into a contract with a homeowner within one (1) year after a natural disaster for the repair or replacement of damage to a home to (i) prohibit a contractor from failing substantially to commence work within one (1) year after contracting, (ii) prohibit a contractor from completing all or any portion of the contracted services in a substandard matter, (iii) prohibit a homeowner from assigning insurance proceeds to the contractor, (iv) prohibit a contractor from completing the contracted services inconsistent with state minimum standards or accredited industry standards, and (v) require a contractor to provide to a homeowner a written notice of the homeowner’s right to cancel within five (5) business days. Section 33-5-5 of the Georgia Insurance Code’s insurance unfair trade practices act will be amended to prohibit homeowners insurance policies from allowing assignments of insurance proceeds to a contractor within one (1) year after a damage to a home from a natural disaster. Click here to read more.

Brian T. Casey, Esq. - Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, (404) 870-4638 , Brian.Casey@troutman.com

Category(s): Georgia - 05/23/2025

On February 19, 2025, Commissioner John F. King issued Bulletin 25-EX-1 to notify the public that the Department is accepting applications from attorneys and insurance adjusters licensed in Georgia to serve as arbitrators on handling the arbitration of disputed property damage claims involving total losses under personal private passenger motor vehicle policies. The panelists will be selected from the applications received by the Department. Applicants need to complete application attached to the Bulletin. Click here to read more.

Tony Roehl, Esq. - BAKER HOSTETLER LLP, (404) 256-8419 , troehl@bakerlaw.com