In the recent case of Downs v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2008] EWHC 2666 Mr Justice Collins was asked to consider whether the defendant was complying with EC Directive (91/414/EEC) (the Directive) which was implemented in the UK by the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005. …
Read More UK: High Court’s Decision Regarding Crop Spraying May Open the Way to New Personal Injury Liability

Fitch recently released its annual report on the Nicaraguan insurance market, “Sector Seguros de Nicaragua: Desempeño Semestral y Perspectivas de Corto Plazo.”  Although the report notes that net premiums grew by 14% over the previous year, due in large part to the positive and increasing role of private insurers, it also finds that Nicaragua remains the most inefficient market in Central America due to high operating costs. …
Read More Nicaraguan Insurance Market Continues to Grow Despite Inefficiencies

Rather than remembering to check our blog every day for the latest news and developments in insurance and reinsurance, why not register for our daily email update and receive our latest posts directly in your Inbox?  Each weekday by 9:30 a.m. Eastern U.S. time, we send out an email listing the topics about which we wrote the previous day. 

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Read More Take The Easy Way Out–Subscribe To Our Daily Email Update

We previously reported on a Wachovia shareholder’s attempt to enjoin the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger (please click here to view previous post).  On December 5, 2008, Judge Albert Diaz of the North Carolina Business Court denied the Wachovia shareholder’s request for a preliminary injunction. 

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Read More Update: Court Denies Wachovia Shareholder’s Request to Enjoin the Well Fargo-Wachovia Merger

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that no coverage was available under two excess professional liability claims-made insurance policies for class action lawsuits asserting claims similar to those asserted in class actions filed prior to the policies’ effective date.  In so ruling, the Court rejected the insured’s argument that the later suits were covered despite the policies’ prior acts provision because, at the time of the policies’ inception, the insured could not reasonably foresee that a claim might be brought by the specific claimants. 

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Read More Prior Acts Provision Bars Coverage Even If Insured Could Not Reasonably Foresee Claim By Specific Claimant

Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Riegel, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently held that the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) extensive premarket approval (“PMA”) process for Class III medical devices preempts state law causes of action for injuries allegedly caused by those devices. …
Read More Illinois Federal Court: FDA Premarket Approval Process Preempts State Law Causes of Action

On December 1, 2008, Risk Specialties Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of AIG Commercial Insurance announced its plan to offer Takaful homeowners insurance in the United States, the first installment in a series of insurance products compliant with Islamic Shar’iah law.  In a press release, AIG stated “we’re pleased to offer socially responsible solutions to this segment of the domestic market [U.S.].” 

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Read More AIG to Offer Takaful Insurance Products in the United States

While Brazilian insurance regulators continue to predict high market growth rates through the end of 2010, Moodys recently sounded a note of caution as to the Argentinean insurance market. …
Read More South America: Mixed Predictions For Argentinean and Brazilian Insurance Markets

This blog updates our September 29, 2008 posting and is related to our December 8, 2008 posting. …
Read More NCOIL Letter Expresses Concern about Possible Federal Involvement with respect to the NAIC’s Reinsurance Modernization Proposal