In Otto v. Physicians Ins. Co. of Wisconsin Inc., 751 N.W.2d 805 (Wisc. 2008), a sharply divided Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a default judgment entered against an insurer for damages allegedly caused by its co-defendant insureds’ negligence, even though no finding had been made as to the insureds’ liability for the damages at issue. …
Read More Wisconsin Supreme Court Awards Nearly $1 Million Default Judgment Against Insurer That Failed to Timely Answer

A Pennsylvania federal court recently ruled that a group of defendant insurers in an asbestos coverage case would not be permitted to join a number of additional insurers as defendants in the action as their request for joinder was untimely. 

…
Read More Pennsylvania Federal Court Bars As Untimely Insurers’ Attempt to Join Additional Insurers in Asbestos Coverage Case

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a consultation paper discussing revisions to the maximum limits of compensation payable by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS covers deposits, life and general insurance, investment business, and home finance mediation. …
Read More UK: FSA Publishes CP 08/15 Reviewing Financial Services Compensation Scheme Maximum Limits

With stock market turbulence and industry consolidation in 2008 have come financial strength ratings downgrades for more than 100 insurers and reinsurers.  While such downgrades can result in numerous consequences, one potentially unrecognized consequence is non-compliance with regulatory reporting guidelines in numerous jurisdictions in Latin America and other parts of the world. …
Read More Ratings Downgrades Can Result in Regulatory Non-Compliance in Many Countries

The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the fraud and dishonesty exclusion in an errors and omissions policy issued to a mortgage originator and broker excluded coverage for the fraudulent acts of one of its employees in the loan origination process. …
Read More Mortgage Broker’s E&O Policy Excludes Coverage for Fraudulent Acts of Its Employee in Connection with Subprime Mortgage Loan Application and Documents

The BMA is taking a proactive role in managing the ripple effects of sub-prime on Bermuda in a way that mitigates risk effectively. In response to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the BMA has been conducting market surveys since August 2007 to assess the impact of this global issue. …
Read More Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”) Monitoring the Impact of Sub-Prime

Further sections of the Companies Act 2006 came into force on 1 October 2008. One of the provisions implemented, by virtue of the Companies Act 2006 (Commencement No 5 Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2007, was the repeal of the restrictions on financial assistance by a private company or any of its private subsidiaries for the acquisition of the company’s shares (including, as a consequence, the statutory “whitewash” procedure). …
Read More Companies Act 2006: Repeal of the Financial Assistance Prohibition from 1 October 2008

MBIA Inc. announced yesterday that MBIA Insurance Corporation (“MBIA”), its financial guaranty insurance company subsidiary, had completed a reinsurance transaction with Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (“FGIC”) whereby MBIA will reinsure FGIC’s risks that consist entirely of U.S. public finance bonds with total net par outstanding of about $166 billion. 

…
Read More MBIA Closes Reinsurance Agreement with Financial Guaranty Insurance Company

On September 29, 2008, New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Elderfield of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”) signed a memorandum of understanding (the “MoU”). …
Read More New York State Insurance Department and Bermuda Monetary Authority Sign Cooperation Agreement