As the House of Representatives prepared to leave for its month-long August recess last week, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced legislation to repeal a controversial tax deduction used by foreign reinsurers. The bill, H.R. 3424, would disallow the deduction for excess non-taxed reinsurance premiums with respect to United States risks paid to affiliates.
United States
First Circuit: No Coverage for False Arrest Suit Where Arrest and Conviction Occurred Prior to the Policy Period
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
The First Circuit recently upheld a trial court’s ruling that an insurer need not defend or indemnify the defendants in a wrongful conviction claim where the wrongful acts occurred prior to the policy period. …
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West Virginia: Insured Bears Burden of Proving Allocation of Jury Award between Covered and Non-covered Claims Unless Insurer Controls Defense
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
The West Virginia Supreme Court recently answered the following question certified from the U.S. District Court in that state: Does the insured bear the burden of showing that a jury awarded damages for covered, as opposed to non-covered, claims when the answer is not clear from the award itself?
Massachusetts Highest State Court: Pro-Rata “Time-On-The-Risk” Allocation Method Applies to Ongoing Environmental Pollution Occurring Over Multiple Policy Periods
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held that where an insured “incurs covered costs as a result of ongoing environmental contamination occurring over more than one year and the insurer provided coverage for less than the full period of years in which contamination occurred,” the loss should be pro rated among all the insurers on the risk during the relevant period. …
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U.S. House Votes to Extend the NFIP
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
As previously reported here, House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (D.-Calif.) and committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) sponsored HR 3139 to temporarily extend the National Flood Insurance Program (the “NFIP”) for a six-month period through March 31, 2010. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 3139. …
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State Regulators Vie for Seat on the Newly Proposed Financial Services Oversight Council
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
As previously discussed here and here, the United States Treasury Department has recently submitted a proposal to form a Financial Services Oversight Council (the “Council”) composed of various federal regulators to coordinate financial services regulation and oversight, but would not include any state regulators that have a specific insurance or reinsurance regulatory background. …
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Michigan Democrats Advocate Consumer Protection Legislation Regarding Bad Faith Claims Denials
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Regulatory, United States
Democrats in the Michigan House are supporting about a dozen consumer protection bills that address unfair trade and “bad faith” claims practices by insurance companies. The underlying rationale for the Democrats’ staunch support of these bills is that Michigan has weak laws to protect consumers against wrongful denial of insurance claims by home, auto and health care insurance companies.
FTC Announces Three-Month Suspension of Red Flags Rule; New Guidance to Be Released Shortly
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Privacy/Data Security/Cyber Risk, United States
On Wednesday, July 29, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would be suspending enforcement of the Red Flags Rule, its new anti-fraud regulations, for three months, until November 1, 2009. The three-month extension followed a request from the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee that the FTC defer enforcement of the regulations.
OGC Opinion: Third Party May Not Bring Direct Action Against Insurer in Foreign Jurisdiction Pursuant to New Insurance Law § 3420
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog.
OGC Opinion: Insurance Law § 3420 Also Applies to Claims-Made Policies
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog.
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