The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the insurance industry regulator in the People’s Republic of China, issued a circular on 31 December 2009, permitting insurance institutions to invest in corporate debentures which are issued in the domestic inter-bank market provided that the corporate debentures satisfy the relevant applicable requirements and have a credit rating of AAA or a long-term credit rating equivalent to AAA assigned by domestic credit rating institutions. 

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Read More China: Insurance Institutions may Invest in Corporate Debentures

The Chinese Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the insurance industry regulator in the People’s Republic of China, have jointly issued detailed rules requiring insurance companies to adopt new accounting standards in compiling their 2009 financial reports. 

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Read More China: New Accounting Standards for Insurance Companies

The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota recently granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment based upon its finding that the underlying claims were excluded by the policy’s broadly worded Product Exclusion. 

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Read More Minnesota District Court Grants Summary Judgment to Insurer Based Upon Broadly Worded Product Exclusion

Though both the House and Senate were officially in recess, several notable occurrences took place last week as key players moved ahead on the difficult task of how to reconcile the differences between the two chambers’ healthcare reform plans. 

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Read More Last Week in DC: The Healthcare Reform Debate – January 11, 2010

U.S. House Representatives Peter DeFazio, (D-OR) and Gene Taylor (D-MS) drafted a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in support of repealing the antitrust exemption under the McCarran Ferguson Act for health insurers and medical liability insurers. 

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Read More Repeal of Antitrust Exemption Gains Traction as House and Senate Democrats Reconcile Healthcare Reform Bills

Wednesday’s announcement that Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) will retire and not seek reelection in 2010 will surely have an impact on the large-scale financial regulatory overhaul effort he is currently shepherding through the Committee. 

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Read More What Dodd’s Retirement May Mean for Financial Regulatory Overhaul

At the end of December 2009, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley released a comprehensive report criticizing Massachusetts managed competition system for the deregulation of auto insurance.  Prior to the managed competition system being introduced in 2007, auto insurance rates were set by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance for all insurers. …
Read More Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Report Stating Managed Competition of Auto Insurance Has Failed

As we previously reported here and here, the New York State Insurance Department (“NYSID”) has announced its intention since July 2008 to revive the currently defunct New York Insurance Exchange (the “Exchange”). …
Read More UPDATE: New York To Move Ahead With Insurance Exchange Revival

In Clydesdale Financial Services Ltd and others v Robert Smailes and others [2009] EWHC 3190 (Ch), the principal issues before the Court were whether the third claimant, Focus Insurance Company Ltd (Focus), had a real prospect of success in its claims to be, first, a creditor (under the Insolvency Act 1986) of the fifth defendant, Alexander Samuel LLP (LLP) in respect of unpaid premiums and, second, a “victim” under ss.423-425 of the Insolvency Act 1986 of the sale of LLP’s business to Jiva Solicitors LLP (Jiva) effected around the same time as it went into administration. 

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Read More UK: English High Court Decides that a Non-Creditor Can be Established as a “Victim” of a Transaction at an Undervalue