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On June 16, 2009, the United States Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises (the “Subcommittee”) held a hearing regarding how to improve oversight of the insurance industry in order to protect insurance consumers and prevent insurance companies from posing a systemic risk to the American financial system. 

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Read More House Financial Services Subcommittee Holds Hearing Regarding the Federal Regulation of Insurance and Systemic Risk

On June 15, 2009, five trade associations (the American Council of Life Insurers, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies, National Fraternal Congress of America, and the Life Insurance Council), which together represent the majority of the U.S. life insurance industry’s carriers and sales force, issued a joint statement (the “Statement”) supporting “responsibly crafted optional federal insurance regulation, with continued viable state regulation.” …
Read More Life Insurance Trade Associations Issue Joint Statement Supporting Optional Federal Regulation

While President Obama has taken a hands-off approach to other major policy initiatives such as healthcare reform and climate change legislation, he will take much more of a hands-on role with his proposed financial regulatory overhaul when he sends actual draft legislation to Capitol Hill this week.  In advance of a detailed roll out on June 17, the administration released an outline of its proposed overhaul that contains the reform elements the administration has floated since March. 

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Read More Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Overhaul to be Unveiled Wednesday

Aon recently released an updated “Terrorism Threat Map” in which it indicates the current threat of terrorist attacks across the world.  The Map shows a trend towards fewer terrorist attacks in the Middle East but increased activity in southeast Asia. …
Read More Aon’s Terrorism Threat Map Identifies a Shift in Terrorism Risk

In an effort to attract its first captive insurance company, Maine has enacted legislation to modernize its captive insurance laws originally adopted in 1997.  L.D. 1436, “An Act To Create Economic Development in the State by Modernizing the State’s Captive Insurance Laws” (the “Act”), eliminates many of the restrictions on the types of business a captive insurance company may engage in and on the types of allowable investments for pure captive insurance companies. …
Read More Maine Revises Captive Insurance Laws

On June 4, 2009, the SEC filed a complaint against several former Countrywide executives alleging securities fraud. In its complaint, the SEC alleges that former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, former COO and president David Sambol and former CFO Eric Sieracki violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act by deliberately misleading investors about the significant credit risks being taken by Countrywide in its efforts to maintain and increase the company’s market share. 

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Read More SEC Charges Former Countrywide Executives with Securities Fraud

Last week, Florida Governor Charlie Christ signed into law House Bill 853, previously discussed here, which exempts surplus lines insurers entirely from the provisions of Chapter 627, except where specifically stated otherwise.  Chapter 627 contains Florida’s rate and form filing statutes. …

Read More UPDATE: Surplus Lines Insurer Exemption Legislation Signed Into Law

The Group Solvency Issues (EX) Working Group (the “Working Group”) (a working group of the Solvency Modernization Initiative (EX) Task Force) of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) held a meeting at the NAIC summer national meeting in Minneapolis to discuss changes to the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act (the “Act”). …
Read More NAIC Considers Changes to Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act to Allow for Greater Oversight of Non-Insurance Holding Companies and Affiliates

The Texas Supreme Court recently reinstated a jury verdict, and reversed the appeals court’s affirmance of a trial court’s judgment notwithstanding the verdict, finding that a collision caused by a driver who was leading police on a high-speed chase was not excluded under the insurance policy’s “intentional injury” exclusion. …
Read More Texas Supreme Court: Reckless High-Speed Chase Is Not “Intentional” For Purposes Of Insurance Exclusion