London’s marine insurance market announced recently that it has withdrawn maritime war-risk coverage for Venezuela (including Lake Maracaibo), as well as the nation’s “Exclusive Economic Zone,” which stretches up to 20 nautical miles off the South American country’s shores. …
Read More In Response to Expropriation, London Insurers Withdraw Maritime War-Risk Coverage as to Venezuela

June 30th is the deadline for filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”), Treasury Form TD F 90-22.1 for calendar year 2008. In general, an FBAR must be filed by any U.S. person who had either a financial interest in or signatory authority (or other authority) over one or more “financial accounts” in a foreign country if the aggregate value of all such accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the year. …
Read More Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reporting Requirements for June 30, 2009

Brazil’s insurance and reinsurance regulator, the Superintendencia de Seguros Privados (Susep), recently issued a report stating that that local reinsurance companies’ earned premium for the period January 2009 to April 2009 totaled R$ 1.3 billion (approximately US$ 661 million). 

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Read More Brazil: Susep Announces Reinsurance Results for First Four Months of 2009

On July 1, 2009, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers of FDA-approved drugs or medical devices doing business in Massachusetts or doing business with health care practitioners (“HCPs”) licensed in Massachusetts (regardless of where benefits are provided or expenditures are made) (“Companies”) must be in compliance with the Massachusetts Code of Conduct Law. This requirement is contained in regulations issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (the “DPH”) on March 11, 2009 (the “Regulations”). …
Read More Deadline Approaches for Compliance with Massachusetts Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturer Conduct Regulations

In Flexsys America LP v XL Insurance Co Ltd [2009] EWHC 1115 (Comm) the Claimant, Flexsys America LP (Flexsys) sought to recover the balance of its legal costs from the defendant XL Insurance Company (XL) under a Master Policy when its Local Policy (which covered Flexsys), taken out with XL Select, was exhausted. It also sought a declaration that it was entitled to be indemnified by XL in respect of the potential damages to a third party, Korean Kumo Petrochemical Company Limited (KKPC), and its costs of defence. 

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Read More UK: Interpreting the Drop Down Clause in a Master Policy

This week, the head of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“FLOIR”), Commissioner Kevin McCarty, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) with the German Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (“BaFin”), Germany’s integrated financial regulator responsible for regulatory oversight of the insurance, banking and securities markets. 

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Read More The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Enters Cooperation Agreement with Germany’s Financial Regulator

On June 10, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission released a detailed report entitled: “Emerging Health Care Issues: Follow-on Biologic Drug Competition.”  The FTC Report is important because it provides the most current government-sector analysis of the U.S. biologics market and the FTC’s recommendations for legislation designed to allow for “follow-on” versions of such drug products. …
Read More The Follow-on Biologics Debate and the June 2009 FTC Report on Follow-on Biologic Drug Competition

As we previously reported here, President Obama has proposed a broad overhaul of the federal financial regulatory system.  Click here to see the Treasury Department’s report on the proposal.  The proposed reforms if adopted by Congress would have far-reaching impacts upon the U.S. financial system, including new regulation of hedge funds, over-the-counter derivatives, rating agencies and securitizations and enhanced regulation of banks, investment banks and bank holding companies. …
Read More The Potential Impact of the Proposed Financial Regulatory Overhaul on the Insurance and Reinsurance Industry

The European Commission has published a report and a green paper on the application of EC Regulation No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Regulation). Copies of the report and the green paper can be found here and here. …
Read More EU: European Commission Considers Reform to EC Regulation No 44/2001

By most measures, Chile is considered the third largest insurance market in Latin America.  It is widely considered to have the most stable market and political environment in the region.  These advantages, however, are significantly counterbalanced by the relatively high costs of doing business in the nation and the advanced development of the country’s insurance market, as reflected by the region’s highest insurance penetration rate (6%). …
Read More Chile: A Mature Latin American Insurance Market Seeking to Modernize