United States

Subscribe to United States via RSS

Last week, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat Congressman from Mississippi, introduced the Fostering Resilience to Terrorism Act of 2013, which would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act by ten years. TRIA, which is set to expire at the end of 2014, was the subject of another proposed extension earlier this year but that proposal merely extended the program five years. …
Read More TRIA Extension Bill Is Introduced in Congress in the Wake of the Boston Attacks

On May 7, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the first criminal prosecution of a debt-relief service provider that arose specifically from an investigation conducted by the CFPB. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the CFPB was created to supervise banks, credit unions and other financial companies, such as debt-relief service providers and consumer credit reporting firms, and to enforce federal consumer financial laws. …
Read More CFPB Refers First Debt Collection Case For Criminal Prosecution

CCIIO ISSUES BROKER GUIDELINES FOR EXCHANGES
On May 1, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), a part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), issued guidance on the “Role of Agents, Brokers, and Web-brokers in Health Insurance Marketplaces.” The marketplaces, commonly known as health insurance exchanges, are scheduled to be in operation for open enrollment on October 1, 2013, with coverage to take effect on January 1, 2014. …
Read More Healthcare Update: CCIIO Issues Broker Guidelines for Exchanges; HHS Releases New Insurance Application Forms

Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives met on May 1, 2013 to discuss H.B. 5459, the Stop-Loss Insurance Act (the “Act”), which was introduced on February 14, 2013. The Act proposes to place further restrictions on the use of stop-loss insurance by employers who self-insure their employee benefit health plans. …
Read More Bill Restricting the Sale of Stop-Loss Insurance Gains Traction in Rhode Island

Several Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) reports will be due later this month, on May 31st, including a 5-year Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment. U.S. companies with foreign affiliates should ensure their compliance departments are working to timely file any applicable reports, including filing of any appropriate claims for exemption. …
Read More Reminder to File Your BEA Reports

On April 1, 2013, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) issued its draft White Paper entitled The U.S. National State-Based System of Insurance Financial Regulation and the Solvency Modernization Initiative (the “Paper”). Broadly, the purpose of the Paper is to provide international regulators with a description of how the U.S. system of regulation works. …
Read More NAIC Issues Draft White Paper for Final Comment

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently held that where title insurers pursue litigation to cure defects to a title, they do not have a broad duty to defend any uncovered counterclaims against the insured. See GMAC Mortgage, LLC v. First American Title Ins. Co., No. SJC-11161 (Apr. 4, 2013). …
Read More Massachusetts High Court Holds That Title Insurers Do Not Have Broad Duty To Defend Counterclaims