The New Year seems to be starting with a bang for the ILS industry. On January 23rd, KKR announced it had taken a 24.9% stake in Nephila. Earlier in the month Validus reported a $400 million capital raise to fund investments in collateralized reinsurance and ILS. In a transaction on which Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP advised Transatlantic Re, Transatlantic Re in December acquired a minority interest in Pillar Capital Management and announced a strategic partnership with Pillar, a manager of funds investing in collateralized reinsurance and ILS. …
Read More Will 2013 be the year of ILS?

In a press release issued on January 22, 2013, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) announced that former Nebraska Senator Bill Nelson has been named as CEO of the NAIC. In his new position, Nelson will be the primary advocate and chief spokesperson for the NAIC in Washington, D.C. …
Read More Ex-Senator Ben Nelson Has Been Named CEO of the NAIC

This is the first in a series of notes explaining a number of fundamental changes to the rules relating to funding of legal proceedings in England presently expected to come into force in April 2013. We will describe in later notes the new opportunities which will become available at that time. …
Read More After the Event Insurance–A Drink at the Last Chance Saloon

The Illinois Department of Insurance (“DOI”) issued Bulletin 2012-12 (“Bulletin”) on December 20, 2012, prohibiting the use of offshore third party administrators (“TPAs”) and utilization review organizations (“UR Organizations”) in connection with insurance contracts and healthcare plans covering Illinois residents. …
Read More Illinois Prohibits TPAs and UR Organizations from Performing Services Offshore

Rhode Island proposes to amend Insurance Regulation 29 (the “Regulation”) governing the activities of insurers and insurance producers with respect to the replacement of existing life insurance and annuity products by adding a new section to the Regulation on “twisting” and “churning” practices (the “Proposed Rule”). …
Read More Rhode Island Proposes to Amend its Life Insurance and Annuities Replacement Rule

Ace European Groups & Ors v Standard Life Assurance Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1713 concerned an appeal against a decision of the Commercial Court that Standard Life’s cash injection into its Pension Sterling Fund constituted an insured “mitigation cost” under the policy and that no apportionment of costs was required. Please see our previous blog on the Commercial Court’s decision here. …
Read More UK: Court of Appeal Upholds Standard Life’s £96m “Mitigation Costs” Victory Over Insurers

In Quadra Commodities S.A. v Ergo Versicherung AG & Ors [2012] EWHC 2687 (Comm) the Commercial Court refused the defendant cargo insurers leave to amend their Defence and submit a Counterclaim in respect of alleged non-disclosure on the claimants’ part. …
Read More UK: Commercial Court Refuses Insurers Permission to Amend Pleadings on Grounds of Non-Disclosure