On June 25 and for the second time in nine months, the House unanimously passed H.R. 1065, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2007. The bill establishes national standards on how states may regulate and tax surplus lines insurers and also sets national standards concerning the regulation of reinsurance.
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United States
Insurance Company Provides New Video Game Development Coverage
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Industry Developments, United States
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company recently released a new insurance coverage product for the video game development industry. The policies will insure video game producers in a similar manner as policies that insure television and film producers.
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Defective Products Claims Against ExxonMobil Deemed Multiple “Occurrences” Under New York Law
On June 5, 2007, a New York State Court located in Manhattan ruled that various products liability claims relating to ExxonMobil Corporation’s defective resin and lubricant products were multiple “occurrences” under liability insurance policies issued to ExxonMobil by Lloyd’s of London.
SEC Proposes Changes to Foreign Company Accounting Rules
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Regulatory, United States
On June 20th, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved a proposal that, if ratified, could allow foreign companies doing business in the United States to choose between filing data using international financial reporting standards (“IFRS”) or the U.S. generally accepted accounting procedures (“GAAP”). This change would bring the U.S. closer to other major financial centers that currently welcome IFRS.
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The Supreme Court Defines the PSLRA’s “Strong Inference” Standard
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 21, 2007, the Supreme Court issued a significant decision for securities litigators and D&O insurers that eliminated a circuit split over the interpretation of a key pleading requirement of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA”).
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House Democrats Introduce Bill to Extend and Expand the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
On June 18, Representatives Barney Frank and Michael Capuano, both Democrats from Massachusetts, introduced legislation that would extend and expand the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007 seeks to extend federal reinsurance coverage for terrorism risks for ten more years.
Third Circuit Rules that Consolidation is Issue for Arbitrators
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 12, 2007, the Third Circuit affirmed a New Jersey district court’s ruling that arbitrators, and not the court, should determine whether a reinsurance dispute involving numerous asbestos claims should be arbitrated in a single, consolidated proceeding.
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The Brocade Criminal Trial: Former Employee Testimony Damaging to Reyes
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The first criminal trial arising out of the stock options backdating scandals, involving Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.’s former CEO, Gregory Reyes, began on Monday, June 18, 2007 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Reyes is accused of intentionally falsifying board meeting minutes and disseminating false financial statements in order to conceal the backdating of stock options.
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NCOIL to Review Potential Long Term Care Abuses
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) Long Term Care and Health Retirement Issues Committee announced that it will discuss and review potential abuses in the long term care (LTC) insurance market at the upcoming NCOIL meeting in Seattle.
The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In 1992, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, the Florida Legislature enacted F.S. § 215.555, which created the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund is a trust fund, established to reimburse insurers, who write covered policies under F.S. § 215.555(2)(c), for a portion of their catastrophic hurricane related losses.