In 'Brent London Borough Council (Appellant) v Risk Management Partners Ltd. (Respondent) & (1) London Authorities Mutual Ltd. (2) Harrow London Borough Council (Interested Parties) (2009)' [EWCA Civ 490] the Court of Appeal held that the actions of Brent London Borough Council (Brent), specifically in relation to its decision to abandon a tender process for insurance cover in favour of a mutual insurer in which it was a participating member, were beyond the authority granted to it by Parliament. View More
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On June 25, 2009, the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2009 (S. 1363) was reintroduced into the Senate by Senators Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.). S. 1363 is a companion bill to H.R. 2571, discussed here, which was introduced into the House on May 21, 2009. View More
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In Taylor v. Sentry Group of Companies, No. 08-35116 (9th Cir. May 20, 2009), the plaintiff was severely injured in an automobile accident, with medical expenses alone exceeding $200,000. The tortfeasor’s insurance policy had a limit of only $25,000. The tortfeasor’s insurer offered the plaintiff the entire policy limits as settlement on three separate occasions. Each offer was rejected by the plaintiff. View More
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On June 26, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (“DOBI”) issued a press release announcing the Senate confirmation of Douglas A. Wheeler as the new Director of the Division of Insurance. View More
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In response to recent investigations of reimbursements of out-of-network treatment, New York Governor Paterson announced a proposed regulation that will require health and accident insurers, including health maintenance organizations (collectively, “insurers”), to inform insureds as to the actual reimbursement amount for out-of-network treatment before receiving such treatment. View More
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An Illinois appeals court recently upheld the trial court’s dismissal of a derivative action brought against Aon based upon its alleged practice of collecting “contingent commissions.” View More
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In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court in Ricci v. DeStefano offered little in the way of practical guidance to employers walking the fine line of race-neutral hiring and employment practices, but provided no shortage of controversy for pundits and commentators. View More
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Petitioner Global Reinsurance Corporation of America (“Global”) and its predecessor companies provided reinsurance coverage to Home Insurance Company. Global reinsured its contracts with Home by obtaining retrocessional reinsurance coverage from, among others, respondent Argonaut Insurance Company (“Argonaut”). View More
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On 25 June 2009, the High Court approved the statutory transfer of the 1992 and prior non-life business of members and former members of Lloyd's to Equitas Insurance Limited by way of Part VII transfer under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). View More
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Eric R. Dinallo, Superintendent of the New York Insurance Department, recently proposed an amendment to Regulation 41 (11 NYCRR 27) that governs the standards for excess lines placement (the "Proposed Regulation). The Proposed Regulation seeks to include additional risks to be insured by excess lines carriers on the New York Export List. View More
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While the ongoing protests and political instability in Honduras certainly pose potential business interruption issues for the country's commercial sector, the Honduran coup has also now indirectly posed the same threat in neighboring countries Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. View More
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General Reinsurance Corporation (“Gen Re”) reinsured certain commercial excess liability policies issued by Mid-Continent Casualty Company (“Mid-Continent”). See Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. General Reins. Corp., No. 07-5050 (10th Cir. May 22, 2009). After a dispute arose between the parties, Mid-Continent filed a lawsuit against Gen Re in federal district court in Oklahoma, and Gen Re sought to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). View More
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On June 11, 2009, Ashland Inc., the maker of Valvoline Motor Oil, filed a complaint against Morgan Stanley in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, based upon Morgan Stanley's alleged sale of Auction Rate Securities ("ARS") to Ashland. View More
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In Ginther v. Farmers New Century Insurance Company, No. 04-3478 (3d Cir. Apr. 21, 2009), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently upheld “the other household vehicle exclusion” contained in an automobile insurance policy. View More
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On June 24, 2009 Florida Governor Charlie Crist vetoed Florida HB 1171, a property insurance reform bill, sought by the insurance industry and business advocacy groups. HB 1171 would have permitted insurers with adequate reserves to offer policies at whatever rate the market would bear while rate regulated companies continued to sell policies in Florida. View More
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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently conducted comparative testing on drywall manufactured in China and the United States. As reported here, here, and here, Chinese drywall emits fumes that allegedly smell like rotten eggs, cause health problems and corrode metal in thousands of new homes built between 2002 and 2007. Complaints have been registered nationwide but are concentrated in the Southeast, particularly in Florida. View More
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Last month, a federal district court in Alabama ruled, as a matter of first impression that, under Alabama law, a litigant seeking to pursue an insurance bad faith claim against an insurer must have a direct contractual relationship with that insurer. View More
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CEIOPS, the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors, has published a report on securitisation in the insurance sector. View More
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On 24 June 2009, the FSA published its Annual Report for the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. View More
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London’s marine insurance market announced recently that it has withdrawn maritime war-risk coverage for Venezuela (including Lake Maracaibo), as well as the nation’s “Exclusive Economic Zone,” which stretches up to 20 nautical miles off the South American country’s shores. View More
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