The Seventh Annual American Bar Association Homeland Security Law Institute is taking place in Washington DC on March 22 and 23, 2012. The Institute addresses a wide range of subjects of interest to the private and public sectors, many of which are directly relevant to the insurance industry.
Read More Two Edwards Wildman LLP Partners on Panel at ABA Homeland Security Law Institute
United States
A “Small Technical Failure” – Liability and Coverage Aspects Related to the Wreck of the Costa Concordia
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The captain of the 114,137 gross ton, 952-foot long, 4,000+ person, six-year-old Costa Concordia cruise ship who ran it aground last month reportedly initially characterized the vessel as having suffered a “small technical failure.” …
Read More A “Small Technical Failure” – Liability and Coverage Aspects Related to the Wreck of the Costa Concordia
Healthcare Update: White House Brief Says PPACA Can Survive Without Individual Mandate; Texas Denied MLR Waiver
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Healthcare, United States
WHITE HOUSE BRIEF SAYS PPACA CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL MANDATE
In a brief filed on January 27, the Obama administration told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could survive even if the individual mandate provision were declared unconstitutional. The mandate, set to take effect on January 1, 2014, would require most U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. …
Read More Healthcare Update: White House Brief Says PPACA Can Survive Without Individual Mandate; Texas Denied MLR Waiver
Client Advisory – Federal Court of Appeals Affirms Statutory Bad-Faith Liability Imposed on Insurer Despite Jury’s Refusal to Find Liability for Common-Law Bad Faith
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In jurisdictions that impose on an insurer a common-law duty of good faith and fair dealing and a statutory duty not to act vexatiously or unreasonably, an insurer may be found to have violated one duty even if it did not violate the other. The Eighth Circuit recently handed down a ruling serving as an example of this principle. In Tripp v. Western National Mutual Insurance Co., the Court of Appeals affirmed post-judgment relief based on South Dakota’s statutory prohibition against unreasonable or vexatious behavior by an insurer. …
Read More Client Advisory – Federal Court of Appeals Affirms Statutory Bad-Faith Liability Imposed on Insurer Despite Jury’s Refusal to Find Liability for Common-Law Bad Faith
Client Advisory – March 1 Deadline for Companies and Vendors with Massachusetts Personal Information
By March 1, 2012, companies with personal information of Massachusetts residents must amend their existing contracts with vendors that handle such information to require the vendors’ compliance with the Massachusetts data security regulations. …
Read More Client Advisory – March 1 Deadline for Companies and Vendors with Massachusetts Personal Information
New Jersey Issues Bulletin Revising Standards for Equity Indexed Annuity Products
On December 28, 2011, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (the “Department”) issued Bulletin 11-31 (the “Bulletin”) revising standards for equity indexed annuities (EIA), which are annuity contracts with a value based on performance of a specified equity-based index (or indices). The Bulletin comes in response to the evolution of EIA product designs, and in light of prevailing low interest rates. …
Read More New Jersey Issues Bulletin Revising Standards for Equity Indexed Annuity Products
New York Completes Merger of its Insurance and Banking Departments
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
As previously reported on InsureReinsure, the State of New York merged its the Insurance and Banking Departments into a new, single agency known as the Department of Financial Services (“DFS”), with new and heightened oversight responsibilities over the financial services industry as a whole. At the helm of the DFS is the Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M. Lawsky. …
Read More New York Completes Merger of its Insurance and Banking Departments
SEC Publishes Dodd-Frank Implementation Schedule
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Regulatory, United States
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has provided a timeframe for when it intends to issue new rules implementing sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Notably, none of the rules the SEC intends to implement directly effect the insurance industry. …
Read More SEC Publishes Dodd-Frank Implementation Schedule
Healthcare Update: White House Issues Health Reform Progress Report; New York Limits Provider Spending for Executive Compensation and Administrative Costs; HHS and Contractor Lag in Development of PPACA Quality Measures
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Healthcare, United States
WHITE HOUSE ISSUES HEALTH REFORM PROGRESS REPORT
In a January 18, 2012 report, the White House stated that all states have “taken some action to implement health reform,” and that 28 states and the District of Columbia are “on their way toward establishing their own Affordable Insurance Exchange.” …
Read More Healthcare Update: White House Issues Health Reform Progress Report; New York Limits Provider Spending for Executive Compensation and Administrative Costs; HHS and Contractor Lag in Development of PPACA Quality Measures
Reminder: Join the U.S. Re Under 40s Group for a Drink on January 26 in New York
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The next U.S. Re Under 40s Group event will take place on January 26 at Three Sheets Saloon at 134 West 3rd Street (between 6th Avenue and MacDougal Street). The event will start at 5:30 and there will be an open bar between 6:00 and 7:00. Click here for more information and to RSVP. …
Read More Reminder: Join the U.S. Re Under 40s Group for a Drink on January 26 in New York