In Lexington Insurance Co. v. Integrity Land Title Co., the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals enforced two exclusions, rejecting arguments in favor of coverage as unreasonable and too narrow. Notably, the court rejected these arguments to the detriment of an intervenor claiming benefits under a policy issued to another party, even though the basis of enforcing these exclusions was the policyholder’s knowledge and failure, not the intervenor’s. …
Read More The Eighth Circuit Rejects Pro-Coverage Arguments as Unreasonable and Too Narrow and Applies the Prior-Knowledge and Lien-Waiver Exclusions

Below are recent activities on the FIO/FSOC front.

  • In its quarterly report to Congress issued on July 24, 2013, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) details its support for the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC’s) designation of AIG as a systemically important financial institution. 

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Read More FIO/FSOC Update as of August 6, 2013

According to media reports, during its July 26 conference call, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Executive (EX) Committee/Plenary approved the proposal for the Corporate Governance (E) Working Group to develop a new model law to facilitate the annual collection of information regarding insurers’ corporate governance practices. …
Read More NAIC Executive Committee Grants Approval for Development of Corporate Governance Model Law

The Supreme Court has confirmed that a tower of liability insurance is exhausted in the order in which the insured’s liability is ascertained by agreement, judgment or award. …
Read More UK: Supreme Court Confirms that Order of Attachment Follows Ascertainment of Insured’s Liability

On August 1, 2013, the California Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Zhang v. California Capital Insurance Company. A copy of the decision is available here. …
Read More The Significance of Zhang v. California Capital Insurance Company

Edwards Wildman Speaker: Robert W. DiUbaldo

12:00 PM – 1:15 PM (Central Time)

Please join us on August 28 from noon to 1:15 pm (Central) for this free webinar. Attorneys from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP and Surdyk & Baker, engineers from St. John-Mittelhauser & Associates and underwriting and claims professionals from the Catlin Group will discuss the recently enacted Illinois Hydraulic Fracking Regulatory Act and its potential consequences, and will answer your questions. …
Read More COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR – FRACKING the NEW ALBANY SHALE: Legal and Technical Issues Arising from the Passage of the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act (HFRA)

In a flawed opinion handed down in Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. v. Merge Healthcare Solutions, the Seventh Circuit ordered an insurance company to pay $3.15 million for attorney fees awarded to the plaintiffs who sued the company’s insured. Some shareholders sued Amicas, Inc. and its officers, who were insured by Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. under a D&O policy. …
Read More The Seventh Circuit Rules that an Insurance Contract’s Exclusion of Any “Multiplied Damages” Does Not Mean the Multiplier Used to Enhance an Award of Attorney Fees

According to South Korea’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), consumer complaints filed against financial firms totalled 21,338 in the first quarter of this year, up 14.7% from a year earlier, with insurers being the target of most of the complaints. …
Read More South Korea’s Financial Regulator Encourages Insurers to Protect Consumers

The Chinese government will soon allow insurers to set interest rates on their insurance products. Initially, insurers will be allowed to set their interests rates for traditional insurance products such as health, life and pension products.
Read More Chinese Government Will Soon Allow Insurers to Set Their Own Interest Rates