Colombia – Swiss Re recently reported in its Sigma publication that the Colombian insurance market grew by 14.9% over the last year.  This growth was driven by the life insurance sector, which grew by 40.9% over the same period. …
Read More Latin American Insurance and Reinsurance Update: Market Growth in Colombia, Ecuador and Nicaragua; Solvency II Program in Colombia; Venezuelan Companies May Need to Seek Coverage from Foreign Reinsurers

On Wednesday, July 29, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would be suspending enforcement of the Red Flags Rule, its new anti-fraud regulations, for three months, until November 1, 2009.  The three-month extension followed a request from the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee that the FTC defer enforcement of the regulations. 

…
Read More FTC Announces Three-Month Suspension of Red Flags Rule; New Guidance to Be Released Shortly

The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog. 

…
Read More OGC Opinion: Third Party May Not Bring Direct Action Against Insurer in Foreign Jurisdiction Pursuant to New Insurance Law § 3420

The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog. 

…
Read More OGC Opinion: Insurance Law § 3420 Also Applies to Claims-Made Policies

The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog. …
Read More OGC Opinion: New Prejudice Rule Set Forth in Insurance Law § 3420 May Also Be Incorporated in Non-Liability Policies at Insurer’s Option

The New York Insurance Department’s (“NYID”) Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recently issued an OGC Opinion (No. 09-06-08) representing the position of the NYID in respect of four distinct queries regarding the recent amendment to Insurance Law § 3420, which we have closely followed and written about in this blog. …
Read More OGC Opinion: Insurance Law § 3420 Also Applies to Policies Issued in NY But Delivered Out of State

Brazil – Eduardo Nakao, the CEO of IRB-Brasil Re, the government-controlled former reinsurance monopoly holder, recently acknowledged that the IRB’s reinsurance prices have hit a nine-year low and reportedly attributed the decline to increased competition from foreign reinsurance competitors. 

…
Read More Latin American Insurance Update: Reinsurance Prices Down in Brazil? Costa Rican Bank Receives Authorization to Market Insurance Products on Behalf of Insurance Companies; Venezuelan Politician Questions Motives of Opponents of New Insurance Law

On Tuesday, July 28, 2009, Acting New York State Insurance Department (“NYSID”) Superintendent Kermitt Brooks announced that the NYSID entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the International Department of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (“CIRC”), China’s insurance regulator. 

…
Read More New York Insurance Department Announces Cooperation Agreement with China

In Highland Crusader Offshore Partners v Deutsche Bank AG ([2009] EWCA Civ 725) the Court of Appeal considered the operation of a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause, whereby the parties submitted to English jurisdiction (but were not permitted from proceeding in another country of competent jurisdiction), against the background of proceedings in Texas and London. …
Read More UK: Court of Appeal Considers Parallel Proceedings and Non-Exclusive Jurisdiction Clauses

In early January, www.insurereinsure.com reported on In the matter of the Petition of Ins. Co. of North America, et al. against Public Service Mut. Ins. Co., No. 08-cv-7003 (S.D.N.Y.), in which the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that an arbitration must start anew because a member of the arbitration panel resigned for health reasons prior to the rendering of an award. 

…
Read More New York Federal Court Vacates Prior Order Finding That Arbitration Must Start Anew