Gov. Lincoln Almond’s decision to veto a pair of General Assembly-approved bills that would have expanded recovery under a wrongful death action to include “enjoyment of life” has been welcomed as a victory by National Association of Independent Insurers.
“These bills would have opened the door for a flood of frivolous lawsuits, clogging up the court system and costing insurers and consumers countless dollars in additional claims and premiums,” said Gerald L. Zimmerman, counsel for the NAII.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
Zimmerman said the group’s lobbying efforts — including the willingness of so many Rhode Island insurers to write to the governor so quickly — resulted in persuading the governor to veto the legislation.
In another victory for the NAII, a proposed bill that would have added to the unfair claims practices statute by providing that claims settlements based solely on computer-generated models constitutes an unfair claims practice, was struck down in both the House and the Senate.
Three other bills that the NAII was lobbying against also failed to gain passage in the 2001 legislative session. They included:
H.B. 6267, which would have transferred jurisdiction of auto body shops from the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation to the Public Utilities Commission, allowing the PUC to set rates that insurers pay auto body shops.
H.B. 5236, which would have transferred responsibility for auto repair oversight to the PUC.
And H.B. 5262, which would have repealed the law that requires any person, business or entity, engaged in the business of auto repair appraisal to be completely independent of repair shops and dealerships.
Zimmerman considered the 2001 legislative session to be a good one for the insurance industry.
“Considering that the Rhode Island legislature was flooded with trial lawyer-backed bills at the start of the session, we feel we’ve done a good year’s work here,” Zimmerman said.
