In a report published by the Treasury Select Committee on 19 June 2008, the UK City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), was heavily criticised for not providing a “robust enough framework” to manage the conflicts of interest inherent in proprietary life funds. …
Read More UK: FSA Heavily Criticised by Government Committee for Lack of Protection for Life Fund Policies

The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court critical questions regarding allocation of loss to multiple insurers for long-term environmental contamination. …
Read More First Circuit Federal Appeals Court Certifies Important Allocation Questions to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

The Seventh Circuit Federal Court of Appeals recently held that an insurer had no liability for its insured’s settlement of noticed claims where the insured had failed to seek or obtain consent to that settlement. 

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Read More Seventh Circuit Strictly Construes Consent To Settlement Provision

The Delaware Chancery Court was recently asked to rule on an issue of first impression: whether a corporation’s duty to advance its executives’ legal bills includes expenses incurred in appealing criminal convictions. …
Read More Delaware Chancery Court To Decide Whether Executives Are Entitled to Advancement of Legal Costs Incurred in Appeals of Criminal Convictions

On 11 June 2008, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance and Financial Services held a meeting focused on consumer insurance law, at which it considered the responses to the Law Commission’s Consultation  Paper (CP) on “Misrepresentation, Non-Disclosure and Breach of Warranty by the Insured” (See: Press Release: 13 June 2008). Responses were received from consumer groups, academics, brokers and lawyers, as well as from insurers. …
Read More UK: Reforming Consumer Insurance Law

In the case of (1) Ramco Ltd (2) Resource Industries Ltd v Weller Russell & Laws Insurance Brokers Ltd LTL 17/6/2008, David Donaldson QC  held that a broker was liable for failing to obtain “insurance coverage which clearly and indisputably meets its clients’ requirements.” Resource Industries Limited (RIL) was a company which traded in surplus army stock. 

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Read More UK: Broker Liable for Failing to Meet Client’s Requirements

On 13 June 2008, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced that the moratorium enabling consumers to take out substantial amounts of insurance without having to disclose adverse results of predictive genetic tests, has been extended to 2014. …
Read More UK: ABI Extends Genetics Moratorium to 2014

A white paper examining the potential impact of climate change on the insurance industry has recently been approved by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC”) Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force (the “Task Force”).  The white paper is intended to begin a process of encouraging, or even requiring, insurers to address climate change risk in order to protect consumer and insurer solvency. …
Read More NAIC Considers Climate Change Measures

The United States Supreme Court recently vacated a judgment of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that had held that questions regarding the willfulness of violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act are an issue of fact. 

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Read More U.S. Supreme Court Vacates Judgment: Questions Concerning the Willfulness of Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations May Not Be for the Jury