Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge's Insurance and Reinsurance Department recently published its latest Newsletter, Insurance & Reinsurance Review - September 2010, which contains nine articles about various topics in the insurance and reinsurance industry.  read more

The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed the Superior Court’s granting of an insurer’s motion to dismiss after finding that the standard mortgage clause in a business owner’s policy did not confer coverage on a mortgagee for loss of rent where the mortgagor had executed an assignment of rent in the event of default.  read more

The law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP is seeking to quash a subpoena from accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where Mr. Stanford’s criminal case is pending.  Mr. Stanford allegedly conducted an $8 billion Ponzi scheme involving certificates of deposit.  read more

In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that an insured’s waiver of its carrier’s subrogation rights can survive the completion of a construction project.  Middleoak Ins. Co. v. Tri-State Sprinkler Corp., No. 09-P-1265 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 5, 2010).  The court’s decision puts Massachusetts in the majority of jurisdictions to have considered the issue.  read more

Japan moved to impose new sanctions against Iran on September 3, 2010, including freezing the assets of people and entities associated with its nuclear program and imposing tighter restrictions on financial transactions.  Although we have not yet obtained a draft of the sanctions, Japanese officials have indicated that new investments in Iran's oil and gas industries would also be suspended under the new sanctions according to a recent article in Agence France Presse (AFP).  read more

California legislators are ready to pass a bill to entice insurance companies to invest in "green" technology projects in low- and moderate-income urban and rural communities.  read more

A press release issued by BP states that it has made claim payments of nearly $400 million during the 16 weeks it managed claims related to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.  A copy of the press release and its exhibits can be found here.  read more

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act) is the latest development in the ongoing saga of state versus federal regulation of insurance. Unlike other major industries, insurance is still primarily and almost exclusively regulated by the states - and the states have long been vigilant about keeping it that way.  read more

In Fensterstock v. Education Finance Partners and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., plaintiff Fensterstock commenced a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Education Finance Partners and Affiliated Computer Services for engaging in fraudulent and deceptive practices in connection with the issuance of student loans.  The defendant lenders moved to stay the action and compel individual arbitration in accordance with the loan agreement’s binding arbitration clause.  read more

In a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, MCI Constructors, LLC v. City of Greensboro, No. 09-1600 (4th Cir. July 1, 2010), the court held that the district court did not err in denying motions to vacate certain arbitration awards.  read more

Defendants, certain ceding companies, appealed a judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York holding them liable for fraudulently inducing the plaintiff reinsurer to enter into two reinsurance facilities.  The defendants also appealed the portion of the judgment finding (a) that the cedents waived their right to arbitration by pursuing it in a summary judgment motion instead of at the outset of the dispute and (b) that the reinsurer’s claims sounded in fraud (as opposed to contract) and were thus not arbitrable under a provision in a facultative reinsurance agreement providing for arbitration of disputes “arising out of the interpretation of this agreement.”  read more

On August 19, 2010, the California Legislature passed two bills, AB 1708 and AB 1837, which if signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will have a significant impact on surplus lines insurers.  read more

A California Appeals Court recently held that a wrongful death action against a security guard who shot a man while on duty was excluded under an “assault and battery” exclusion, even if the security guard acted in self-defense.  Michael Krause, Sr., et al. v. Western Heritage Ins. Co., No. G041405 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Aug. 2, 2010) (unpublished).  read more

The Connecticut Insurance Department (“Department”) issued Bulletin IC-25 (the “Bulletin”), dated August 18, 2010, to require all entities doing business in Connecticut that are licensed by or registered with the Department to notify the Department of any information security incident.  read more

Helene Tomasian, a non-party to an arbitration between Ware and C.D. Peacock, Inc., moved to quash an arbitrator’s subpoena compelling her attendance at a pre-hearing deposition.  See Ware v. C.D. Peacock, Inc., No. 10-cv-2587 (N.D. Ill. 2010).  The subpoena was issued at the request of Peacock after the arbitrator denied its motion for summary judgment based upon “in large part” the affidavit of Ms. Tomasian.  read more

Earlier this month, New Jersey Department of Bank and Insurance Commissioner Thomas Considine issued Bulletin No. 10-19 reminding surplus lines brokers that the $50 limitation remains in effect for fees charged by surplus lines brokers to originating brokers.  P.L. 2010, Chapter 42, which was enacted on July 6, 2010, amends N.J. Stat. Ann. § 17:22A-38b to allow for the Commissioner to set the fee limitation by regulation, however, it is not effective until October 1, 2010.  read more

A Nevada federal judge has determined that an insurer did not breach its contract or act in bad faith when it terminated payment for chiropractic services for two policyholders injured in an automobile accident. The Court found that the plaintiff policyholders failed to counter medical testimony that they did not require additional chiropractic care because the “maximum medical improvement” had been reached.  read more

A New Jersey federal judge dismissed a bad-faith claim for underinsured-motorist benefits, finding that Plaintiff's complaint lacked necessary factual support and did not rise above the level of “bare averment.”  The Court also dismissed Plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages, finding that Plaintiff failed to allege sufficient facts to show egregious circumstances or that the insurer's conduct was wantonly reckless or malicious.  read more

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on August 18 that states have until September 24 to request an extension of the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) – the federal government’s share of Medicaid funding.  read more

On 26 August 2010, the European Commisson (the Commission) opened a competition investigation into the maritime insurance sector, in particular the agreements between the Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Clubs within the International Group of P&I Clubs (the International Group), a worldwide association of thirteen P&I Clubs.  read more