Petitioners Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (“Mitsubishi”) moved to vacate a partial arbitration award entered by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in favor of Respondent Stone & Webster, Inc. (“Stone & Webster”). 

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Read More Court Finds That Arbitration Award is Not Final for Purposes of Review under the FAA

Plaintiff China National Chartering Corp. (“CNCC”) petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm an arbitration award rendered in its favor against defendant Pactrans Air & Sea, Inc. (“Pactrans”) by the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (“CMAC”). 

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Read More Federal Court Confirms Foreign Arbitration Award, Even Though Appeal of Award in Foreign Jurisdiction was Pending

During the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) winter meeting, the Restructuring Mechanisms for Troubled Companies (E) Subgroup adopted the “White Paper on Alternative Mechanisms for Troubled Companies” (the “White Paper”). 

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Read More NAIC Subgroup Adopts White Paper on Alternative Mechanisms for Troubled Companies

ACE, through its local subsidiary ACE Resseguradora, recently received authorization as the sixth local reinsurer in the Brazilian reinsurance market.  ACE joins XL Re, Mapfre, Munich Re, J. Malucelli Re and IRB-Brasil Re as the only reinsurers in the Brazilian market unfettered by cession limits and/or rights of first refusal. 

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Read More Brazil: ACE Becomes Sixth Local Reinsurer

The Law Commission has today published its draft Bill on Consumer Insurance Law: Pre-Contract Disclosure and Misrepresentation. It applies only to consumer insurance contracts, ie. contracts of insurance bought by individuals for purposes wholly or mainly unrelated to their trade, business or profession. It also only deals with the issue of what a consumer must tell an insurer before entering into or varying an insurance contract. 

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Read More UK: Insurance Contract Law Reform – Draft Bill on Consumer Insurance Law: Pre-Contract Disclosure and Misrepresentation

On December 8, 2009, State Representative Bill Proctor filed HB 447, An Act Relating to Residential Property Insurance, in the Florida Legislature.  HB 447 would permit insurers to charge rates higher than those they have filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR) for residential property insurance that covers hurricane or windstorm risk, as long as the insurers comply with certain new requirements set forth in HB 447.

Read More Florida Legislator Seeks De-Regulation of Rates for Property Insurance that Covers Risk of Windstorm or Hurricane

When comparing September 2009 to September 2008, total premiums in the Brazilian insurance market were down 4.81% (US$ 1.42 billion), down to US$ 29.58 billion to US$ 28.16 billion.  For the same period total premiums were up 13.99% for pension and 5.4% for credit and guaranty, but down for accident and health (-5.3%), life (-6.89%), auto (-9.09%), non-auto liability (-12.42%) and mandatory auto (-54.86%). 

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Read More Brazil: Total Premiums Off Nearly 5% in September

Costa Rica’s financial services supervisor, the Consejo Nacional de Supervision del Sistema Financiero (Conassif) recently unanimously selected Javier Cascante as the head of country’s new insurance superintendency, the Superintendencia General de Seguros (Sugese). 

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Read More Costa Rica: Javier Cascante Appointed Insurance Commissioner

On Friday, the House passed its 1,200+ page package of nine bills to reform the U.S. financial regulatory system by a vote of 223-202.  Passage of the comprehensive measure – the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) – wraps up months of House debate on the issue and marks an important step in the legislative process for one of the top priorities of the Obama Administration. 

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Read More Details of House-Passed Financial Regulatory Reform Legislation

Debate on healthcare reform legislation continued on the Senate floor last week, while behind the scenes a tentative agreement was reached among Democrats on the controversial public insurance option.  As a result, further consideration of the Senate healthcare reform bill is temporarily on hold, as Democratic leaders await cost estimates on the new public option compromise. …
Read More Last Week in DC: The Healthcare Reform Debate – December 14, 2009