Richard Bouhan, Executive Director of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO), recently stated that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) is attempting to undercut the surplus lines reforms in the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (the “Act”), which becomes effective on July 21, 2011. …
Read More NAPSLO Questions NAIC ‘s Handling of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act

On April 14, 2011, John Huff, Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions, and Professional Registration, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the “NAIC”) at a hearing on “Oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.”  In his testimony, Director Huff was critical of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “FSOC”) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”). …
Read More House Hearing on FSOC: NAIC Testifies; U.S. Representatives Ask About FSOC Insurance Expertise

Attorneys for Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of BP’s $20 billion claims fund for the Deepwater Horizon disaster argued Tuesday that the Louisiana federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation against BP plc lacked legal authority to regulate the claims process. …
Read More BP’s Claims Administrator Argues Court Intervention Regarding $20 Billion Fund is ‘Unlawful’ and ‘Unnecessary’

Ken Ross, Commissioner of the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, announced that he will be stepping down from his position effective April 15.  Ross was appointed as commissioner in February 2008 by then-Governor Jennifer Granholm. …
Read More Michigan Insurance Commissioner Ken Ross Resigns

On April 5, 2011, the U.S. Senate approved legislation that would repeal the expanded IRS Form 1099 information-reporting requirements imposed by Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”).  Having also been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 3, 2011, the bill is now expected to be signed into law by President Barack Obama. …
Read More 1099 Repeal Requirement: On Its Way to the White House

Acting Pennsylvania Commissioner, Michael Consedine, announced that Randy Rohrbaugh has been named Executive Deputy Insurance Commissioner.  Mr. Rohrbaugh’s duties will include helping the Commissioner in the daily activities of the running the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.  The Executive Deputy Commissioner will also oversea all operational day to day issues. …
Read More Pennsylvania Executive Deputy Commissioner Named

The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation and Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner recently proposed new regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) regarding the issuance of insurance policies to Rhode Island trusts and associations. If promulgated, the Proposed Regulations could have a significant impact on insurers and brokers that issue or renew insurance policies to trusts and associations in Rhode Island, as well as the trustees responsible for maintaining such trusts. …
Read More Client Advisory – Rhode Island Agencies Propose Regulations Imposing Additional Requirements on Group Policies Issued to Rhode Island Trusts and Associations

Natural gas obtained from shale formations using the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing (“hydrofracking”) have a higher greenhouse gas footprint than when obtained from conventional methods, according to a study recently released by the academic journal Climate Change Letters. …
Read More Hydrofracking: Study Finds “Shale Gas” May Have Greater GHG Footprint Than Coal

A recent decision of the California Supreme Court is sending a chill through a common retail practice: requesting a customer’s ZIP code during a credit card transaction for research and marketing purposes. The decision, in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., found that the practice of collecting ZIP codes violates a California statute, the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, which forbids businesses from requesting “personal identification information” during a credit card transaction. …
Read More Client Advisory – California Supreme Court’s Zip Code Decision Exposes Retailers to New Litigation Hazard, Statutory Fines

Forecasters at Colorado State University (“CSU”) predict that the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be above average and will have about nine hurricanes, 16 named storms, 80 named storm days, 35 hurricane days, and 10 major hurricane days.  CSU also predicts that nine of the 16 named storms will turn into hurricanes, with five of them developing into major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher on the five-step Saffir/Simpson. …
Read More Above Average Hurricane Season Predicted for 2011