As of March 6, 2025, the United States has implemented several notable insurance laws and regulations across various sectors. Here are 20 key updates:
- Mandatory Disclosure for Home Insurance Cancellations in Texas: Texas lawmakers introduced a measure requiring home insurance companies to provide mandatory explanations when they cancel or refuse to renew homeowners’ policies. Previously, insurers only needed to disclose such reasons upon consumer request.
- Regulation of AI in Health Insurance Claims: The U.S. government has issued executive orders and voluntary operating agreements to standardize AI usage in healthcare, ensuring that AI does not override physician recommendations in health insurance claim decisions.
- Supreme Court Review of Preventive Healthcare Mandates: The Supreme Court is assessing cases related to the Affordable Care Act’s preventive healthcare mandates, which could impact insurance coverage requirements for preventive services.
- California’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy: In response to insurers withdrawing from the state due to wildfire risks, California introduced the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which eases regulations and allows rate adjustments to attract insurers back to the market.
- NAIC’s Climate Risk Disclosure Standard: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopted a climate risk disclosure standard aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures to enhance transparency in how insurers assess climate-related risks.
- Federal Insurance Office’s Climate Data Collection: The Federal Insurance Office initiated data collection at the ZIP code level to assess climate-related impacts on insurability, aiming to address affordability and availability issues in homeowners insurance.
- NOAA and NSF’s Climate Research Center: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation established a research center to provide the insurance industry with climate change data, improving modeling for catastrophic impacts in risk assessments.
- Treasury Department’s Climate Risk Report: The Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office released a report highlighting the increasing importance of climate risk oversight for state insurance regulators, noting that most efforts remain preliminary.
- State Investigations into Homeowners Insurance Practices: States initiated investigations into homeowners insurance practices to understand rising premiums and coverage availability, particularly in areas prone to climate-related events.
- FIO’s Homeowners Insurance Data Collection: The Federal Insurance Office advanced its first insurer data call to assess climate-related financial risks to consumers, focusing on homeowners insurance markets.
- Roundtable on Climate Risks and Insurance Markets: The Treasury Department hosted a roundtable with consumer and climate groups to discuss climate-related risks and their impact on U.S. insurance markets, aiming to gather diverse perspectives for policy development.
- Collaboration Between Treasury and State Regulators: A coordinated effort between the U.S. Treasury Department and state insurance regulators was launched to collect data on homeowners insurance, assessing the effects of climate risk on U.S. insurance markets.
- Report on Rising Homeowners Insurance Costs: The Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office released a report indicating that homeowners insurance premiums have risen significantly, particularly in areas with high expected annual losses from climate-related perils.
- Increased Nonrenewal Rates in High-Risk Areas: The same report noted that nonrenewal rates for homeowners insurance policies are approximately 80% higher in ZIP codes with the highest expected annual losses from climate-related events compared to lower-risk areas.
- Higher Loss Ratios in Climate-Prone Regions: Data indicated that the ratio of claims losses to premium revenue is 18% higher in high-risk ZIP codes, despite these areas already facing higher premiums per policy.
- CMS Requirements for Medicare Advantage Plans: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandated that Medicare Advantage plans must consider individual circumstances over AI algorithms when making coverage decisions, ensuring personalized patient care.
- Legal Actions Against Insurers Using AI: Class action lawsuits have been filed against major insurers like UnitedHealthcare, alleging the misuse of AI to override physician recommendations and deny coverage, prompting regulatory scrutiny.
- State-Level Climate Risk Assessments: Several states have begun their own assessments of climate-related financial risks to their insurance markets, aiming to develop localized strategies to address these challenges.
- Public Access to Climate Risk Data: Efforts are underway to improve public access to data on how climate risks are factored into insurance pricing, promoting transparency and informed decision-making among consumers.
- Development of Wildfire-Resilient Building Codes: In response to increasing wildfire risks, some states have implemented building codes that require the use of fire-resistant materials and landscaping practices, aiming to reduce insurance rates and improve insurability.