Recently, a Pennsylvania federal court dismissed a bad faith claim against an insurer on the grounds that the claim was subsumed by the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim in the same proceeding. …
Read More Pennsylvania Federal Court Dismisses Bad Faith Claim as Subsumed by Breach of Contract Claim, But Allows Statutory Bad Faith Claim

The 2011 Rhode Island state budget, which was enacted as HB 7397A and signed into law June 2, 2010, amends the taxation statutes applicable to surplus lines insurers and the Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriters Association.  Article 9 of HB 7397A contains both amendments. …
Read More Rhode Island 2011 Budget – Tax Implications for Surplus Lines Insurers and Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriters Association

The Commercial Court has upheld an arbitration award on business interruption insurance that used a “but for” approach to causation with the effect of limiting recovery by the insured. …
Read More UK: Commercial Court Upholds Tribunal Award Limiting Recovery Under Business Interruption Policy

In a decision issued on February 1, 2010, the United Stated Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit confirmed that under New York law some policy provisions, although placed outside of the policy’s “Exclusions” section, may nonetheless be considered an exclusion and, therefore, subject to the timely disclaimer and denial requirement of NY Insurance Law § 3420(d)(2). …
Read More Second Circuit: Distinguishing Between Policy Definitions Subject to NY Insurance Law § 3420(d)(2)’s Timely Disclaimer Requirement as an Exclusion and Those That Are Not

The Flow Rate Technical Group, a federal panel, now estimate that 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil a day are flowing into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.  This new range is far above the previous estimate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day. …
Read More UPDATE: New Estimates Double — BP Oil Spill is the Equivalent to the Exxon Valdez Disaster Gushing Into the Gulf of Mexico Every 8 to 10 Days

The Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation is financing a database of hundreds of buildings that have been sustainably retrofitted in New York City.  The database will track lighting changes, detail HVAC improvements, insulation upgrades, window replacements, potable water reduction and other substantial green adaptations, along with their respective cost and efficiency savings for building owners and occupants. …
Read More “Green” Database to Track and Report on Retrofitted Buildings in New York City

This updates our June 1, 2010 posting.  The still-growing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could combine with a hurricane to cause devastation along the Gulf Coast and trigger trouble for insurers, Moody’s warned. …
Read More Update: Moody’s Estimates that BP Spill Could Cost Insurers $3.5 Billion

In a recent decision, In re Assicurazioni Generali, 592 F.3d 113 (2d Cir. 2010) (“Generali”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims on the ground that they were preempted by an Executive Branch foreign policy favoring the resolution of such claims solely through the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (“ICHEIC”). …
Read More Recent Second Circuit Decision Denies Insurance Claims Against Italian Insurer on Holocaust-era Policies ― Upcoming Supreme Court Nominee’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing to Focus on the Decision

EAPD’s Mark Meyer and Brian Green are attending the Aviation Insurance Association’s Annual Conference in Vancouver, Canada.  The conference is well-attended and informative.  There were several interesting CIE sessions on Sunday, including a discussion of the criminalization of aviation accidents.  Our speaker explained that the trend is that in Europe and Latin America, investigations into accidents also often included criminal investigations, and sometimes indictments, of the pilots, flight controllers and others who were claimed to be involved in the accident. …
Read More Aviation Insurance Association Annual Conference – Update