As the White House and Congress focused their attention on the release of President Obama’s FY 2011 Budget and the new jobs agenda, healthcare reform efforts took a back seat last week. Despite the priority shift, off the record chatter and closed door meetings continued, as speculation grew over if and how Democrats would be able to revive their stalled priority in the coming months. View More
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The difficult market conditions and the consequent increased chance of insolvency of regulated entities prompted the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to carry out firm visits over the last 6 months to a range of investment and insurance broker firms to assess their compliance with the client money rules contained in the Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS) of the FSA Handbook. View More
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The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) has recently announced that it has agreed to further enhance supervisory cooperation with the Swiss insurance supervisor, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). View More
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In a class action lawsuit brought by various auto body shops and the Auto Body Association of Connecticut, a Connecticut jury recently rendered a $14.7 million verdict against an insurance company for allegedly violating the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-110a et seq. (“CUTPA”). View More
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Shashoua and another v. Sharma [2010] EWCA Civ 15 concerned an application to the Court of Appeal by Sharma for permission to appeal a procedural aspect of the High Court's decision in (1) Roger Shashoua (2) Rodemadan Holdings Ltd (3) Stancroft Trust Ltd v Mukesh Sharma [2009] EWHC 957 (Comm) (previously blogged here). View More
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New revised Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for advertisements containing endorsements or testimonials focus attention on “new media” as an advertising venue. The guidelines require transparency and disclosure of any material relationship between the manufacturer and the endorser or poster. View More
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If you are a registered investment adviser who – directly or indirectly – has authority to obtain possession of client funds or securities (“custody”), the SEC has increased your compliance burden beginning March 12, 2010. View More
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A Connecticut Superior Court recently awarded summary judgment in favor of an insurer on the basis that an insured’s family member who resides in the insured’s household is not entitled to underinsured motorist benefits if they are similarly not entitled to liability coverage under the family member’s policy. View More
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A Connecticut trial court recently held that the “general business practice” element of an unfair settlement practice claim under the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. §38a-816(6) (“CUIPA”) requires that a plaintiff prove multiple unfair practices by an insurer against more than one insured. View More
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The Privacy and Data Protection Group of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is holding a 60 minute complimentary webinar entitled "Local Issue/National Challenge: March 1 Massachusetts Data Security Requirements" on February 11, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. View More
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This session's panel provided insight into the policyholder's expectations with regard to the scope of coverage being purchased and claims handling. The panel discussed in detail what policyholders expect from their brokers and their insurers at the procurement stage, including during coverage negotiations and setting the broker's fee, and also in the event of a claim. View More
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This session’s panelists discussed the Canadian D&O industry. The panel provided an in-depth discussion of the Canadian judicial system, Canadian procedure for certifying class actions, and Canadian securities law. View More
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During a candid discussion about his role as the federal government's compensation czar, keynote speaker Kenneth Feinberg described his role in setting executive compensation for institutions that received substantial TARP funds. Though Mr. Feinberg agrees that, to an extent, his work is a "sideshow," he made a compelling case that the true impact of his work has less to do with the companies that are subject to his mandate and more to do with those entities that voluntarily adopt his approach to executive compensation. View More
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This session's panel began by discussing the role of brokers and the rising use of external legal consultants by insureds. Panel members mostly agreed that the added use of these legal consultants, so long as the relationships among the all parties involved are managed correctly, are beneficial to ensure that insureds maximize their coverage. View More
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The central theme of this panel was that derivative litigations provide a fertile area, which can be expected to continue to grow and take on lives of their own. View More
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During the second afternoon session of the first day of the PLUS D&O Symposium, the panelists discussed the complex underwriting issues that arise when the company to be insured is insolvent, in bankruptcy, or close to bankruptcy. View More
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The Financial Services Authority (the FSA) has recently published a factsheet for general insurance providers entitled "Climate change thematic review: flooding – do your customers know what they are covered for?". The factsheet has been published following an FSA review of whether general insurers are giving customers clear and accurate information about their cover. View More
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In the case of Goldsmith Williams v Travelers Insurance Company Limited [2010] EWHC 26, Mr Justice Wyn Williams considered the question of whether a company had acted fraudulently. Goldsmith Williams brought a claim against Travelers Insurance Company Limited using the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 (the 1930 Act). View More
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The criminal proceedings in Turin against the former heads of asbestos giant Eternit (as previously reported here) have taken a new turn. A civil case has been linked to the criminal trial and both the European Union (EU) and the Italian Government have been named as civil defendants. It has been reported that 4,000 people have asked to join the case as plaintiffs, and 3,000 people are due to give evidence. View More
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In LIDL v Just Fitness Ltd [2010] EWHC 39 (Ch) the Court was asked to decide whether an arbitrator had jurisdiction to determine a particular issue in a dispute, which was alleged to have been addressed in a previous arbitration. View More
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