The Connecticut Appellate Court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment holding that an insurance company had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in a negligence action brought by a women who was stabbed twenty-four times by the insured.  The court’s decision was based on the fact that the phrase “physical abuse” contained in a homeowner’s policy exclusion was not ambiguous and did not contain an implicit intentionality requirement, and thus the exclusion applied. …
Read More Connecticut Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment Holding that Insurer Had No Duty to Defend or Indemnify its Insured in Negligence Claim Brought by Stabbing Victim

The Connecticut Appellate Court recently held that the “substantial factor test” for causation remains unchanged and that traditional causation rules apply to workers’ compensation cases. 

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Read More Connecticut Appellate Court Holds Substantial Factor Test Remains Unchanged in Workers’ Compensation Cases

In North American Specialty Insurance Co. v. John Paul Pucek, et al., Docket No. 5:09-CV-49 (JMH) (E.D.KY Nov. 4, 2009), the owners of a thoroughbred horse purchased an equine mortality insurance policy.  During the policy period, the horse sustained an injury that ultimately resulted in the horse being euthanized. 

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Read More Kentucky Law is Found Ambiguous by Federal District Court as to Whether Agents Can be Sued for Bad Faith and Thus Joinder of Agent Allowed Even Though Destroys Diversity

Gloria Sabando, Ecuador’s Superintendent of Banking and Insurance, recently announced that the seventeen (17) companies that operate in the country’s mandatory auto coverage market (SOAT–Seguro Obligatorio de Accidentes y Transito) must return US$ 19.4 million in premium to their customers, representing a 30% credit against “excessive” premiums charged in 2009. …
Read More Ecuador: Regulator Finds That Seventeen Insurers Must Return A Total of US$ 19.4 Million In Compulsory Auto Premiums; Insurers Begin Making Payments and Seeking Clarity

Plaintiff B.D. Cooke & Partners Limited, as Assignee of Citizens Casualty Company of New York (in Liquidation) (“Cooke”), filed a lawsuit against defendant Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London (“Underwriters”).  Underwriters moved to compel arbitration, which was granted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

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Read More District Court Denies Motion to Stay, Holds That Potential for Unnecessary Arbitration-Related Expenses Does Not Constitute Irreparable Harm or Clear Hardship

The Insurance and Reinsurance Department of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is holding a 60 minute complimentary webinar entitled “¿Seguro? Opportunities and Risks for (Re)Insurers in Latin America in 2010 and Beyond” on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 10:00 am (EST). 

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Read More Free Webinar: ¿Seguro? Opportunities and Risks for (Re)Insurers in Latin America in 2010 and Beyond

In the case of Co-operators Life Insurance v Gibbens, 2009 SCC 59, the insured contracted herpes through unprotected sex and, as a result, developed transverse myelitis, a rare complication of herpes, which left him paralysed from the waist down. The insured was a party to a group insurance policy that provided cover for accidental bodily injuries under which he attempted to make a claim for his injury. 

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Read More Supreme Court of Canada Considers the Meaning of ‘Accident’ Under a Group Policy

On January 15, 2010, New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie announced that Tom Considine will be the new Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (“DOBI”).  Mr. Considine is currently the vice president and government relations counsel for MetLife, a position he rose to since he started at MetLife in 1993. …
Read More New Jersey Governor Appoints Insurance Commissioner

On Thursday morning, President Obama unveiled a proposal that takes aim at the size of the nation’s major financial institutions and seeks to limit the proprietary trading and other risks taken by such institutions.  The President was joined by former Federal Reserve Chairman and head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, Paul Volcker, who has long pushed for more robust financial overhaul provisions such as those included in today’s announcement. …
Read More President Obama Announces New Proposal on Bank Limits

Insurers may see increased exposure on employers’ liability policies in 2010, particularly related to noise-related personal injuries, as the effects of the so-called textile deafness test litigation are felt in the industry. …
Read More UK: Insurers Face More Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Claims Following Court of Appeal Decision