United States

Eliot Spitzer Establishes Commission to Modernize Insurance Regulation in New York

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 15, 2007

Posted in New York Developments, Regulatory, United States

On May 29th, Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York, signed an executive order creating the New York Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services. The Commission’s objective is to streamline state regulation of an industry that has become increasingly complex over the past decade.

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Introducing Pennsylvania’s New Insurance Commissioner

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 14, 2007

Posted in Industry Developments, Regulatory, United States

Joel Ario, former insurance administrator of the Insurance Division in the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (“DCBS”), has confirmed that he has accepted the nomination by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell to serve as Insurance Commissioner for Pennsylvania.

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Florida Court Recognizes New Statutory Medical Malpractice Bad Faith Cause of Action

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 13, 2007

Posted in Extra-Contractual Liability, Florida Developments, United States

A Florida appellate court recently recognized a new statutory cause of action for bad faith in the handling of medical malpractice claims.

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Hurricane Katrina Whistleblower Lawsuit

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 12, 2007

Posted in Catastrophe Claims, Coverage & Claims, United States

A Katrina-related whistleblower lawsuit originally filed under seal on August 2, 2006, was recently unsealed and made public.

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NAIC Adopts Military Sales Practices Model Regulation

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 8, 2007

Posted in Regulatory, United States

On June 4, 2007, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted the Military Sales Practices Model Regulation. The purpose of the Model Regulation is to provide uniform standards through which active duty service members of the United States Armed Forces are protected from dishonest and predatory insurance sales practices.

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Group Health Incorporated Spots Insurance Fraud in Alleged Brain Surgery Scam

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 8, 2007

Posted in Healthcare, United States

Given the escalating costs of covering legitimate health care services, the last thing the health insurance industry needs is to be paying for services that were never rendered. Fortunately, state and federal laws provide harsh penalties for this sort of fraud.

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NAIC Begins Drafting of Excess/Surplus Lines Interstate Compact

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 7, 2007

Posted in Excess and Surplus Lines, Federal Legislative Developments, Regulatory, United States

In an effort to stay one-step ahead of related federal legislation, an interested parties group within the NAIC has begun drafting an interstate compact that will allow for the uniform regulation of excess/surplus line transactions.

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NAIC Plans to Address Collateral Issue by Modernizing Reinsurance Regulation

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 7, 2007

Posted in Bermuda, European Union, Regulatory, Reinsurance, United States

Earlier this week, the Reinsurance Task Force (“RTF”) met at the NAIC’s quarterly conference in San Francisco to discuss ways to overhaul reinsurance regulation in the United States thereby reducing collateral charges for nonadmitted reinsurers.

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National Insurance Act/Optional Federal Charter Legislation Reintroduced in Senate

By Troutman Pepper Locke on June 6, 2007

Posted in Excess and Surplus Lines, Federal Legislative Developments, Insolvency, Restructuring and Run-Off, Regulatory, United States

On May 24, 2007, optional federal charter (OFC) legislation was reintroduced into the Senate as the National Insurance Act of 2007 (S. 40) (NIA), co-sponsored by John Sununu (R-NH) and Tim Johnson (D-SD). A similar bill is expected to be reintroduced into the House by Ed Royce (R-CA) in the coming weeks.

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Fifth Circuit Hears Katrina-related Appeal