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The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) recently announced that Administrative Law Judge Daniel Manry of the Division of Administrative Hearings issued a Recommended Order on December 12, 2008 denying State Farm’s statewide homeowner’s insurance rate request. …
Read More Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to Issue Final Order on State Farm Rate Request

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently held that an insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds where the insureds’ claims “arose out of” acts that occurred prior to the policy’s retroactive date. 

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Read More Massachusetts Federal Court Finds Retroactive Date Bars Coverage Despite Plaintiff’s “Continuing Scheme” Theory

In an action for rescission of a professional liability policy, Maine’s highest court recently held that an insurer must prove both fraud and materiality as well as actual reliance.   In that case, Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. v. Estate of Faulkner, Yor-07-180 (Me. Oct. 7, 2008), a attorney allegedly made misrepresentations in his 2003 application for a lawyer’s professional liability insurance policy when he responded “no” when asked  if he had “ever been disbarred or been the subject of reprimand, censure, sanction, or other disciplinary action” by the Bar. 

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Read More Maine Supreme Judicial Court Requires Fraud, Materiality, and Actual Reliance for Rescission of Professional Liability Policy

On November 11, 2008, Frank Keating, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Council of Life Insurers (“ACLI”), submitted a proposal to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) asking the NAIC to consider changing reserve and risk-based capital requirements that it believes are too conservative (the “Proposal”). 

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Read More NAIC Considers Reserve and Capital Relief Proposal for Life Insurers

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (“NCOIL”) has proposed to hold a strategy summit in early 2009 to plan and organize opposition to any federal involvement in the regulation of insurance.  This announcement follows the recent adoption of the Resolution Opposing Continuing Federal Insurance Chartering Efforts by the Council of State Governments (“CSG”) where it was resolved, amongst other things, that state officials continue to monitor, review and regulate the banking, insurance and securities industries as it relates to their individual jurisdictions. 

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Read More NCOIL Proposes Summit to Discuss Opposition to Proposed Regulatory Reform

An Ohio District Court recently denied an insurer’s motion to bifurcate its insured’s bad faith counterclaim from its declaratory judgment coverage action and to stay related bad faith discovery. 

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Read More Ohio District Court Refuses to Bifurcate Bad Faith Counterclaim from Coverage Action and Refuses to Prohibit Disclosure of Pre-Denial Communications with Coverage Counsel

On December 17, 2008, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted 4 – 1 in favor of classifying equity-indexed annuities as securities, subjecting them to federal regulation.  As discussed in our earlier posts here and here, the new rule, which takes effect January 12, 2011, seeks to clarify the status of indexed annuities under the federal securities laws. 

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Read More SEC Votes to Regulate Indexed Annuities

On December 17, 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed House Bill No. 4508, An Act Protecting Military Services Members (the “Act), into law.  The purpose of the Act is to protect members of the armed forces from dishonest and predatory insurance practices by declaring certain acts or practices to be false, misleading, deceptive or unfair. …
Read More Massachusetts Law Aims to Protect Military Members from Predatory Insurance Practices

This blog updates our September 29, 2008 and December 8, 2008 postings.

A number of industry groups and interested parties have issued statements responding to the adoption of the Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Framework Proposal (“Proposal”) at the NAIC Winter National Meeting, the adoption. …
Read More Industry Responds to Adoption of NAIC Reinsurance Modernization Proposal