Weekly Industry News

News Releases and Bulletins

Around the PIA Western Alliance States – Week of November 27, 2023

Washington — Audio-only telemedicine report: In 2021, the Washington state Legislature enacted Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB) 1196, concerning audio-only telemedicine. In accordance with Section 8 of ESHB 1196, OIC has published its report on audio-only telemedicine. For more information, including a copy of the report, please visit the OIC’s

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That Time of Year — Christmas Movies

The CSGO gambling site, CSGOLuck does surveys and studies about all kinds of things. Though we aren’t all that sure what this has to do with gambling, the site’s current study is about Christmas movies and which of the hundreds that have been done over the years are our favorites.

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Marijuana Use — Hard on the Heart?

Here’s a piece of health news that’s surprising. We all know that marijuana use can be hard on the lungs, and — if used to much — hard on the brain. What we haven’t heard is that regular marijuana use might also be hard on the heart. It can —

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Your Winter Health — Colds, COVID, the Flu & More

It’s the flu and cold season. And it’s the next incarnation of COVID season, too. We also have to worry about RSV. So how are we — the American people — addressing this year’s sickness worries? The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania asked that question and

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Remote Work Vs. Salary — Remote Work Wins

COVID’s impacts on business are still being felt. As things continue to “normalize,” and as we push toward a new year and 2024, those same businesses are still reworking their home and office policies. The goal is to bring more people back into the work-only-at-the-office fold. Flexjobs is a site

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Future Insurance Pricing — Two Reports

Willis Towers Watson says businesses picking up, or renewing, commercial property insurance are going to see rate increases continuing into 2024. The Insurance Marketplace Realities 2024 report notes that the increases will likely be single digits for all lines. That’s one side of the coin. The other is casualty insurance.

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Legislative Advocacy - PIA National

NAIC Adopts Update to Its Guide on Cannabis Insurance

A white paper adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) at its Summer National Meeting updates a 2019 white paper on cannabis-related insurance issues and regulation. Produced by the NAIC’s Cannabis Insurance Working Group, the Regulatory Guide to Understanding the Market for Cannabis Insurance: 2023 Update discusses the

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PIA Action Alert: NFIP at Risk of Lapse

As the September 30 expiration date for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) quickly approaches, members of Congress need to hear from agents urging them to act to prevent a lapse of the NFIP. The history of NFIP extensions has been messy. The program was extended 17 times between 2008

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Legislative Advocacy - Oregon

Oregon Agents Advocate – August 24, 2023

Finally, the Oregon Legislative website has been fully updated. Here is the list of successful bills that PIA was following.  Remember, three very bad bills that died are thankfully not on this list: (HB 2920 – bans certain risk factors used in setting auto insurance rates), HB 3242 (cause of

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Oregon Agent Advocate – June 26, 2023

We Did Great This Session in Difficult Fights For the insurance industry, three hard-fought legislative bills involving insurance died, and other bills passed that deserve mention.  PIA will publish a final bill list of all bills we were tracking as soon as the legislative website has been fully updated and

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Oregon Agents Advocate – June 22, 2023

On June 22, 2023 two bad insurance bills had different outcomes when they came up for votes on the Oregon Senate floor. HB 3242 HB 3242-B passed by a vote of 17 yes to 7 no.  The link to the bill is: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB3242/B-Engrossed. The summary reads: “Provides insured with cause

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Oregon Agents Advocate – June 15, 2023

URGENT – One Last Chance to Stop Bad Legislation! Senate Republicans Have Returned from Walkout Bad Insurance Bills May Be Voted on Floor Soon Senate Republicans Return After Longest Walkout in Oregon History; Both Sides Declare Victory (wweek.com) Republican-led walkout ends after more than a month as Oregon Senate resumes

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Agents Advocate – May 17, 2023

Bad Insurance Bills Pass Committee How Will Insurance Producers be Impacted? Since HB 3242-A passed committee, how will agents be impacted? First, due to PIA’s action in the House, HB 3242-A no longer contains an increased standard of care for insurance producers. But in Section 1 of HB 3242, the

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Oregon Agents Advocate – May 3, 2023

Oregon Secretary of State Resigns Shemia Fagan, Oregon’s Secretary of State, has resigned effective May 8.  In case you haven’t seen them, here are some articles about it: Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigns – oregonlive.com Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s chief of staff resigns – oregonlive.com Pot

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Legislative Advocacy - Washington

Washington Legislative Advocacy – April 24, 2023

Washington State 2023 Session is a Wrap The 2023 session of the Washington State Legislature adjourned sine die just after 10:00 p.m. Sunday evening, April 23rd, after 105 days of fast-paced action. This session marked the first year back in person since 2020, and featured 30 newly elected, or promoted,

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Washington Legislative Advocacy – April 18, 2023

Washington Legislators enter the home stretch as last full week of session arrives Washington’s 2023 legislative session is now down to its last full week, with adjournment set by midnight on Sunday, April 23rd. The House and Senate have taken the weekend off, and will resume floor action on Monday,

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Washington Legislative Advocacy – April 10, 2023

Washington Lawmakers head to the floor after last committee cutoff of session With two weeks remaining in the legislative session, lawmakers are now full-time on the floor of the House and Senate, initially considering the other chamber’s policy bills until Wednesday’s opposite-house cutoff. From there, the remainder of session will

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Washington Legislative Advocacy – March 12, 2023

House of origin cutoff comes and goes, lawmakers return to policy committees to consider remaining bills Lawmakers spent the first half of this week on the floor of the House and Senate again, sometimes in long and late-running sessions, debating and voting on bills up to the March 8th cutoff

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Washington Legislative Advocacy – March 6, 2023

Washington Legislative Session has moved into long days and nights as lawmakers debate, amend, and pass bills to the other chamber before next cutoff This week marked the midpoint of this year’s legislative session, as lawmakers wrapped up committee work on their own bills with last Friday’s fiscal committee cutoff.

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Washington Legislative Update – February 13, 2023

Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/14 @ 8:00am • SB 5720 – Public Hearing – Concerning risk mitigation in property insurance. (Remote Testimony Available). Consumer Protection & Business (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 2/14 @ 1:30pm •

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