Bills Aiding Insurers in LA, Bill Regulating ‘Bitcoin ATMs’ in VT & More

LA Enacts Bills Aiding Insurers

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a trio of bills aimed at addressing the state’s insurance crisis, with insurers failing and fleeing the market and rates skyrocketing, as in other states at high risk of extreme weather due to climate change.

HB 611 will phase out the state’s “three-year rule,” preventing insurers from dropping or raising the deductibles of policyholders who have been customers for three years or more. Now insurers will be able to drop 5% of their longtime customers each year, and the three-year rule won’t apply to customers who buy policies after August.

SB 323 will allow homeowners insurers more time to pay claims and give them a “cure period” for resolving issues with policyholders.

SB 295 will let insurers increase rates without obtaining prior approval from the Insurance Department. (ADVOCATE, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

VT Passes Bill Regulating ‘Bitcoin ATMs’

Vermont lawmakers passed legislation (HB 659) regulating cryptocurrency kiosks, or “Bitcoin ATMs,” allowing users to easily purchase digital currencies with cash or a debit card. Among other things, the measure would limit user transactions to $1,000 per day, cap fees for such transactions at 3%, and impose a one-year moratorium on the installation of new machines in the state. A spokesperson for Gov. Phil Scott (R) said he hadn’t seen the final version of the bill, but the state’s Department of Financial Regulation had “been comfortable” with the legislation. (VTDIGGER)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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