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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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

Last month, the New York Insurance Department’s Office of General Counsel issued Opinion No. 09-06-11 (the “Opinion”) which prohibits contingent annuity contracts on the grounds that such contracts constitute an impermissible form of financial guaranty insurance. …
Read More N.Y. Insurance Department Issues Opinion Prohibiting Contingent Annuity Contracts

The First Circuit recently held that an insured was not entitled to coverage under a Professional Liability claims made and reported policy where the claim is not both made against the insured and reported to the insurer within the policy period. …
Read More First Circuit: No Coverage Under Claims Made and Reported Policy If Insured Fails to Report Claim within Policy Period

This updates our January 28, 2009 posting.  Earlier this year, American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (“American Equity”), together with a coalition of insurance companies and independent marketing organizations, filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “Court”) seeking to overturn Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 151A which classified certain indexed annuities, previously regulated as insurance, as securities, thus subjecting them to federal, rather than state, regulation. 

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Read More D.C. Circuit Remands Rule 151A Back to the SEC

Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court decision granting summary judgment to a professional liability insurer where it provided a defense in a state court action but denied coverage in a subsequent related arbitration. 

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Read More Sixth Circuit: Insurer That Defended Insured in State Court Action Need Not Defend Insured in Subsequent Related Arbitration; Wording of Arbitration Claim Precludes Coverage

In order to comply with its free trade agreement with the United States, the Colombian legislature recently passed legislation revising various provisions of the nation’s insurance laws so as to allow certain cross-border insurance activities.  As of the date of this post, the legislation still awaits the President’s signature, at which point it will immediately enter into effect. …
Read More Colombia Revamps Cross-Border Insurance Regulations to Comply with Free Trade Agreement with the United States

The UK Financial Services Authority published Policy Statement PS09/13 on 24 July 2009 confirming that proprietary life insurance companies will no longer be able to use their with-profit funds to meet future compensation and redress payments. …
Read More UK: Financial Services Authority Announces Changes to With-Profits Rules