In its August 2008 opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court decision granting the defendant insurers’ motion to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiffs’ price discrimination claims would “impair” the Missouri laws that regulate the “business of insurance” within the meaning of the McCarran-Ferguson Act. 

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Read More Eighth Circuit Dismisses Purported Class Action Against Insurers Alleging Price Discrimination

With Tropical Storm Fay on the map and threatening to become a hurricane before landfall on August 19th, property insurers stopped writing new policies in Florida. 

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Read More Tropical Storm Fay Temporarily Halts Writing of New Property Insurance Policies

J, K, P v. Archbishop of Birmingham (QBD 25/7/2008) is one of the first cases decided subsequent to the House of Lords decision in A v. Hoare. The case concerned a procedural matter of whether the issue of limitation in respect of bringing sexual abuse claims should be decided as a preliminary issue or at the substantive trial. …
Read More UK: Judge Refuses to Hear Limitation Defence in Sexual Abuse Claim as a Preliminary Issue

In Elacqua v. Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers, 52 A.D.3d 886 (N.Y. App. Div. 2008) (“Elacqua II”), the Supreme Court, Appellate Division held that the insurer engaged in deceptive practices by failing to inform the insureds of their right to select independent counsel to defend them at the insurer’s expense. 

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Read More New York Appellate Court Holds that Insurer Engaged in Deceptive Practices by Failing to Inform Insureds of their Right to Select Independent Defense Counsel at Insurer’s Expense

Recently, the Iowa Insurance Commissioner, Susan E. Voss, issued Bulletin 08-13, which establishes new guidelines for permissible advertising and gifts that will not constitute a prohibited rebate under Iowa Code 507B.  Earlier rebating guidelines were more restrictive, and disallowed the offering of any goods or services that were not specifically incorporated as part of the policy contract and made a part of the pricing of the policy. …
Read More Iowa Establishes New Rebating Guidelines

In a press release dated August 27, 2008, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced what is claimed to be the first-ever agreement requiring a company, Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) (“Xcel”), to detail financial liabilities related to climate change.  The Office of the Attorney General reports that the agreement comes at a time when many power companies are investing in new coal-burning power generation that will contribute to global warming emissions. 

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Read More New York Attorney General Reaches Agreement With Energy Company To Require Disclosure Of Financial Risks Of Climate Change To Investors

On Tuesday Lloyd’s underwriters along with Zurich Specialties London Ltd commenced proceedings in New York against class action specialists Milberg LLP. Insurers are seeking to rescind certain professional liability insurance policies issued to Milberg’s predecessor firms based on material mispresentations made by the Milberg firm. …
Read More London Insurers Sue Milberg LLP

In a suit brought by an additional insured seeking a declaratory judgment that an insurer had a duty to defend it in an underlying liability lawsuit, the Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas district court’s award of summary judgment in favor of the insurer and held that the insurer had a duty to defend the additional insured under the Texas “eight corners” rule. …
Read More Fifth Circuit Examines Duty to Defend Additional Insured Under Texas Law

A Washington state appeals court recently ruled that an insured’s self-insured retention is not primary insurance for purposes of subrogation, and that the insured was therefore entitled to apply settlement amounts it received to its own defense costs prior to the insurer recovering any of the settlement funds. 

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Read More Washington Appeals Court: Self-Insured Retention Not “Insurance” for Purposes of Subrogation