Fund managers and other investment advisers will face tight new restrictions on their ability to make – or facilitate – contributions to politicians, candidates and other officials who are responsible for public assets, including pension plans and Section 529 tuition plans.  The new Securities and Exchange Commission “pay-to-play” rule  applies to investment advisory firms that are exempt from SEC registration under the private investment adviser (fewer-than-15-clients) exemption as well as to registered investment advisers. 
Read More Investment Managers are Restricted from Making Political Contributions to Win Business — Unregistered Advisers are Covered by the SEC’s New Pay-to-Play Rule — Third Party Solicitors are Spared . . . if they are Registered Advisers or Broker-Dealers

The Minnesota Department of Commerce will lower the surplus lines stamping fee from 0.0025 to 0.0008, effective January 1, 2011.  The new stamping fee will apply to all surplus lines policies written or renewed after the effective date, and includes all premium bearing transactions on such policies. 
Read More Minnesota to Lower Surplus Lines Stamping Fee

On June 28, 2010, the New York Insurance Department (the “Department”) held a hearing to obtain comments from the public regarding how to enhance Department procedures. Comments were invited on the processing of rate and form filings, regulatory filings, and company and producer licensing and renewal applications. 
Read More New York Insurance Department Holds Hearing on Reform of Rate, Form, Regulatory Filings and Licensing Applications

The New York Insurance Department (“NYID”) prepared a draft circular letter (“Draft Circular Letter” or “Letter”) in early June, which, if finalized and issued, will require insurers to advise consumers of the implications of excess withdrawals from annuities with guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWB”). 
Read More New York Contemplates Disclosure for Excess Annuity Withdrawals

In advance of a June 18 deadline for comments, top hospital groups expressed strong opposition to proposed payment cuts issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The following week, President Obama announced a set of regulations that will implement various provisions of the recently-enacted healthcare reform law (Public Law 111-148) relating to pre-existing conditions, lifetime coverage limits and other patient protections. 
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – June 28, 2010

Late last week, the House and Senate drafters of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) came to final compromise on the language creating the first ever office in the federal government that is focused on the insurance industry called the Federal Insurance Office (the “FIO”), housed in the United States Department of the Treasury. 
Read More Language on Authority of New Federal Insurance Office Agreed to by Drafters of the House and Senate Financial Reform Bill

Representatives of the United States House of Representatives and Senate attending the reconciliation conference on H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, have come to an agreement on the streamlined regulation of multistate surplus lines insurance policies. 
Read More Surplus Lines Reform Approved by House/Senate Conferees

In the early morning hours of June 25, House and Senate conferees completed action on financial regulatory reform legislation (H.R. 4173) by approving a final conference report by a vote of 20-11 among House conferees and a vote of 7-5 among Senate conferees. 
Read More Financial Reform Conferees Complete Work on Overhaul Legislation