June 29, 2021 - Governor Mike Parson today signed HB 345, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Degroot and handled in the Senate by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, that seeks to close a loophole exploited by plaintiffs' attorneys and harming all insurance policyholders.
Associated Industries of Missouri President and CEO Ray McCarty joined leaders from the Missouri Insurance Coalition, Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition, and other business leaders at the bill signing ceremony today.
"We thank Governor Parson for signing this bill that closes a loophole we thought we had closed several years ago," said McCarty. "Clever plaintiffs' attorneys limited the application of our previous legislative fix. This bill expresses the Legislature's original intent: to allow insurance companies to appropriately intervene in cases and to avoid sham arbitration settlements between the plaintiff and defendants that require the defendant's insurer to pay the bill. We worked hard to ensure insureds were protected and we are pleased we were able to support this bill at every step in the process. We thank the Missouri Insurance Coalition and Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition for working with us on the language and are very pleased with the resulting law," he said.
The bill will be effective August 28, 2021. You may find the full language HERE, a summary of the final bill HERE, and a link to the full bill details HERE.
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