The U.S. Re Under 40s Group's next event will take place on May 31 at Edwards Wildman's New York office. The event, sponsored by WeiserMazars, will include a panel discussion about the current Professional Liability Market. read more
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CMS DELAYS DATA COLLECTION UNDER SUNSHINE ACT
In a May 3 notice on its official blog, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will not require data collection under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), until January 1, 2013. read more
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The CIRC recently approved Taikang Life and Alltrust Property to cross-sell the products of each other. read more
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The CIRC Shenzhen Bureau and the Shenzhen Office of Finance have recently submitted a proposal to the Chinese government regarding the establishment of an insurance exchange which will trade in a variety of insurance products (the Qianhai Insurance Exchange). read more
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Effective from 1 May 2012, foreign insurers are allowed to enter China's compulsory transport accident insurance market which was previously open only to domestic insurers. read more
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The NRCMS, overseen by the Ministry of Health, is a basic health social security system, started in 2003, that combines insurance and social assistance, and targets all farmers and rural residents in China. read more
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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the California Insurance Department (the “Department”) announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that will allow the FinCEN and the Department to share important information enabling both parties to coordinate and heighten efforts aimed at rooting out fraud and protect consumers and the insurance industry from criminal acts. read more
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The market is convinced that Solvency II will be delayed again. Rumours began to circulate three weeks ago. Until now, the Commission has insisted that Omnibus II will be in force before 1 November 2012. read more
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N.J. State Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-22nd Dist.) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 105 (the “Resolution”), which is critical of a proposed amendments by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (the “Department”) affecting the personal injury protection (“PIP”) regulations promulgated under the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998 (the “Act”). read more
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In Elafonissos Fishing & Shipping Co v Aigaion Insurance Co SA (2012) EWHC 892 (Comm), the defendant insurers, Aigaion Insurance Co SA (Aigaion), sought to re-amend its Defence to a claim brought by the claimant, Elafonissos Fishing & Shipping Co (Elafonissos), under a policy for marine insurance in relation to a damaged vessel, and to adduce expert evidence in support of its amendments. read more
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The New York Department of Financial Services (the “Department”) has made a major step in making it easier for the public to view property and casualty insurance company rate, rule and form filings through a free online database. These filings are used by P&C insurers to, among other things, introduce new products, support rate increases, or make changes to coverages on existing products. read more
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This presentation will be of interest to anyone working in, or advising, an international insurance or reinsurance group. It will also be of interest to reinsurers based outside the European Union with reinsureds based inside the Union. read more
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California’s Senate Insurance Committee recently approved in a unanimous vote SB 1216 (the “Bill”). read more
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On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act into law. A primary goal of the legislation is to facilitate the ability of growing companies to raise capital. read more
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CMS ISSUES PROPOSED IPPS RULE
On April 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) rule setting forth hospital payment rate changes for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2012. read more
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In Atlasnavios-Navegação, LDA v. Navigators Insurance Company Limited & Others [2012] EWHC 802 (Comm), the Commercial Court had to decide, as a preliminary issue, the meaning of clause 4.1.5 of a war risks policy, which incorporated the Institute War and Strikes Clauses 1.10.83 (the Policy). read more
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Panama has passed a new Insurance Law which aims to boost the country's insurance industry and changes the way local and foreign companies do business there. read more
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In April 2012, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”) issued its Final Rule (the “Rule”) and interpretive guidance on the regulation of systemically important nonbank financial companies, or what many refer to as SIFIs (i.e., “systemically important financial institutions”). read more
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In a speech given at the City & Financial Conference on 19 April 2012, ( see our blog here) Julian Adams, Director of Insurance Supervision in the Prudential Business Unit of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), described the supervisory strategy to be followed by the Prudential Regulatory Authority when it takes over responsibility for insurance supervision in 2013. read more
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On 19 April 2012, Julian Adams, Director of Insurance Supervision in the Prudential Business Unit of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), gave a speech at the City & Financial Conference entitled "The new approach to insurance regulation and the implementation of Solvency II". read more
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In Travelers Insurance Company and Denton Wilde Sapte v Gauri Advani [2012] EWHC 623 (QB) Sir Raymond Jack held that where a solicitor had acted dishonestly and outside the scope of her employment, the terms of the relevant professional indemnity insurance allowed the insurer to recover amounts paid to fund the defence of that solicitor in negligence proceedings. read more
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Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber recently signed S.B. 1547 into law, making Oregon the latest state to permit the formation of captive insurance companies. S.B. 1547 allows for the formation of pure captives, association captives, branch captives, and captive reinsurers. read more
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A survey conducted by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), and published on 11 April 2012, suggests that the proposed Solvency II rules will dramatically reduce the willingness of insurers to invest in securitisation assets. AFME suggests that this in turn will have a negative impact on economic recovery. read more
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A Ministry of Justice Report released in March 2012 has confirmed that the implementation of the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 (the " Act") is to be delayed until 2013. read more
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CMS ANNOUNCES FIRST ACO PARTICIPANTS
On April 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the first 27 accountable care organizations (ACOs) that will participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). read more
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Congress will take up cybersecurity legislation the week of April 23. On April 5, Vince Vitkowsky, of Edwards Wildman's New York office, moderated a panel on Capitol Hill that included, among others, representatives of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Constitution Project. read more
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In Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company v (1) Samina Bashir (2) Faisal Rauf (3) Kaneez Akhtar (4) Mohammed Bashir (5) Kamran Khan, the High Court commended the diligence of the Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company in investigating and pursuing a case of insurance fraud, which recently resulted in custodial sentences for two of the accused. read more
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This presentation will be of interest to anyone working in, or advising, an international insurance or reinsurance group. It will also be of interest to reinsurers based outside the European Union with reinsureds based inside the Union. read more
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In British Waterways v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc [2012] EWHC 460 (Comm), the High Court held that sums paid by the claimant, British Waterways, in relation to liability for the death of two farmers when a tractor fell into a canal was covered by the policy issued by the defendant, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc, and that the sums were not excluded as liability "arising out of" the operation of the tractor as a tool. read more
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The High Court has ruled that a manufacturer claiming the "invoice value" of lost goods under an insurance contract governed by the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (the MIA), can the claim the goods' full retail value, notwithstanding that some of the lost goods were unfinished. read more
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According to media reports, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones will introduce legislation shortly that will set minimum permissible amounts for stop-loss policies to self-insured small businesses. While the minimum amount has not been finalized, it is anticipated that it will be set at $40,000 per employee. read more
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On 2 April 2012, the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) moved to a "twin peaks" model of supervision internally, shadowing the split of the FSA into the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that will occur once the Financial Services Bill comes into force in 2013. read more
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In our blog of 28 March 2012 ( available here), we noted that, on 21 March, ECON accepted a revised draft of the Omnibus II Directive. read more
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May 3, 2012 Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel 76 Pitts Bay Road Hamilton HM 08 Bermuda Edwards Wildman Speakers: John D. Hughes, Mary-Pat Cormier, Chris Finney, Barry Leigh Weissman read more
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SUPREME COURT APPARENTLY DIVIDED ON INDIVIDUAL MANDATE AND WHETHER TO SCRAP PPACA ENTIRELY
In the U.S. Supreme Court’s hearings last week on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the justices seemed to have mixed views on both the constitutionality of the individual mandate, and the proper course of action should the mandate be found unconstitutional. read more
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On 16 March 2012, Mr Justice Morgan handed down his judgment on an application for directions on the Part VII transfer of the UK insurance business of the Combined Insurance Company of America ( CICA) to ACE European Group Limited ( AEG) and ACE Europe Life Limited ( AEL) ( click here for a copy of the judgment). read more
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The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in the Employers' Liability Insurance Trigger Litigation ( see judgment here). The ruling has provided clear rules governing how EL policies should respond to mesothelioma claims. read more
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When the Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee of the European Parliament voted on 21 March 2012 to approve the draft Omnibus II Directive, it took two small steps towards Solvency II implementation. read more
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The Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”) has taken the dramatic and competitive action of reducing its annual registration fees for Special Purpose Insurers (“SPI”) by almost 50% from $11,600 to $6,000. Click here for the BMA's press release. read more
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Edwards Wildman partner Vince Vitkowsky authored an article that is part of Business Insurance's March 19, 2012 special edition on Cyber Risks. In the article, which you can read here, he addresses cyber attacks with physical effects, which are coming to be referred to as "Industrial Threats." read more
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The European Commission's Directorate-General Competition (DGC) has issued further questionnaires to a number of co-insurance firms with European subsidiaries. The study, conducted by Ernst and Young, is set to further investigate competitiveness amongst European participants to the subscription market, with a particular focus on whether the automatic upward alignment in premiums is still prevalent in the subscription market. read more
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The next Re Under 40s Group event is this Thursday at the 13th Step. Click here for more details about the event and RSVP information. See you there! read more
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As the two-year anniversary of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) approaches, the federal government seems to be accelerating its efforts to provide long-promised guidance to implement the health reform law. read more
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The Massachusetts Division of Insurance has scheduled a hearing to discuss the rate filing made by the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts (“WCRIBMA”) requesting that its members’ average rates for industrial classes be increased by 19.3% and its average rates for F-Classes be increased by 20.0%. read more
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The Court of Appeal has confirmed that a declaratory award under section 66 of the Arbitration Act can be enforced by the English courts in the same manner as a judgment. read more
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When we blogged about Solvency II on 14 March 2012, it looked as if the matching premium and counter-cyclical premium had died. They were too controversial. The Commission was reconvening its Working Group and the FSA had gone back to first principles ( see our blog here). read more
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The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure & Representations) Act 2012 received Royal Assent on 8 March 2012 ( click here for the text). It's short and tolerably clear, but its effect is wider and deeper than you might expect. read more
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Prudential Plc has sparked a debate about Solvency II, which has featured on the UK evening news. Suddenly, Solvency II is sexy. read more
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