Nebraska legislators adjourned April 19 without enacting any bills that might have harmed insurers and their policyholders. Several bills were amended in the closing days of the session to make them fairer to both companies and consumers.
National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) Counsel Ann Weber said one bill of particular concern to insurers that was amended was Legislative Bill 58. Initially, the bill would have required the contents of a home to be covered at the full face value of the policy when a home was totally destroyed. With strong input from NAII, the bill was amended to state that 0 insurers must exercise good faith in settling claims for personal property losses related to total loss claims, which reinforces the current law.
Another bill of some concern was LB 488 on motor vehicle electronic data base reporting.
Initially, the bill might have been used to compare vehicle registrations with car insurance coverage, which NAII has found to be burdensome and an ineffective attempt to deal with uninsured motorist problems. Upon NAII’s prodding, LB 488 was amended to make it clear the bill was not an attempt to combat uninsured motorists. Instead, the bill is designed to permit on-line auto registration renewals.
Legislation that died during the session includes:
LB 1185, extending workers’ compensation law to certain farm employees. NAII opposed the bill, which became bogged down by several confusing amendments, including coverage of volunteer firefighters..
LB 888, requiring motor vehicle insurers to report policy cancellations to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of cancellation.
LB 1138, imposing a $2 annual surcharge on homeowners and auto insurance policies and a $4 surcharge on commercial policies to be contributed to a new emergency management, preparedness and assistance trust fund.
LB 1198, prohibiting insurers from making an appraisal, audit or estimate of motor vehicle repair costs unless personally inspected by the appraiser.
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