This updates our September 2, 2010 posting.  California insurance companies appear to have new incentives to invest in “green” technology, including clean energy projects, efficiency improvements and environmental technology initiatives. …
Read More UPDATE: Insurance Turns “Green” in California

A recent decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Ario, Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in his official capacity as the statutory liquidator of Legion Insurance Company (in liquidation) v. The Underwriting Members of Syndicate 53 at Lloyd’s for the 1998 Year of Account, No. 09-1921, 09-2989 and 09-2991 (3d Cir. 2010), involved a dispute between the Liquidator of Legion and Villanova, as cedents, and The Underwriting Members of Syndicate 53 at Lloyd’s for the 1998 Year of Account, as reinsurers, which concerned whether the cedents had properly underwrote the business described in the reinsurance placement materials. …
Read More Third Circuit Rules that Clear and Unambiguous Intent is Required to Opt Out of the Removal Provision and Vacatur Standards of the FAA and Convention

On September 28, 2010, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) announced that U.S. insurance regulators entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Insurance Bureau of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the official organization that regulates the insurance industry in Taiwan. …
Read More NAIC Announces New Cooperation Agreement with Taiwan

On 22 September 2010, the European Parliament approved a sweeping overhaul of financial supervision in Europe, including the creation of a new supervisory authority for insurance and reinsurance – the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – and a European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) which will monitor threats to the EU economy as a whole. …
Read More European Parliament Approves Overhaul of Financial Supervision in Europe

Nearly 2,000 businesses, unions and state governments have been approved thus far for the federal government’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.  Created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the program subsidizes health insurance costs for retiring workers age 55 and older who have chronic and high-cost health conditions. …
Read More Early Retiree Reinsurance Program is Underway; It’s Not Too Late to Apply

In a recent case, Helmot v Simon (Guernsey Unreported Judgment, 14 September 2010), the Guernsey Court of Appeal provided a UK record for the highest personal injury compensation payment, with the claimant receiving £13.7 million in compensation for personal injuries caused by a road traffic accident. Liability was admitted by the defendant and therefore the court was only concerned with the level of compensation to be awarded to the claimant. …
Read More UK: Guernsey Sets Record Payout in Motor Claim

On September 24, 2010, the Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board and the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) held a joint public hearing to review the impact of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.  The Board then passed a resolution to seek a waiver from the MLR requirements. …
Read More Florida Plans to Seek Waiver of Medical Loss Ratio Requirements of PPACA

On September 29, the Washington Post and New York Times reported that the United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a proposal this week that would require US banks to report all electronic money transfers into and out of the United States. James Freis Jr., director of the FinCEN, explained that the proposal would “greatly assist law enforcement in detecting and ferreting out transnational organized crime, multinational drug cartels, terrorist financing and international tax evasion.” …
Read More Treasury Department Proposes a Plan that Would Require US Banks to Report All Overseas Money Transfers

New York’s Superintendent of Insurance, James J. Wrynn, has proposed several key initiatives in an attempt to ensure homeowners insurance is available to all consumers.  For a complete copy of Superintendent Wrynn’s press release, please click here. …
Read More New York State Insurance Department Seeks To Change Homeowners’ Coverage

The NAIC Life and Annuities Committee has posted a draft model bulletin (the “Draft Bulletin”) recommending that insurers implement certain safeguards in order to limit their potential exposure to stranger-originated annuity transactions (“STOA”).  STOA transactions are defined in the Draft Bulletin as transactions in which agents or investors offer an individual, who is usually a stranger to the agent or investor, a nominal fee for the use of the individual’s identity as the measuring life on an investment oriented annuity. …
Read More NAIC Posts Draft STOA Bulletin for Comment