In a very favorable ruling for insurance companies, a federal district court on May 6 held that ‎Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company had not misclassified as an independent contractor (IC) ‎a life insurance agent who alleged that he was an “employee” under the New Jersey Wage Payment ‎Law. ‎…
Read More Insurance Agent for Northwestern Mutual Found to be Independent Contractor, Not Employee

Ted Augustinos, a member of the steering committee of Locke Lord’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group, authored an article detailing the stifling effect of privacy and cybersecurity regulations on innovative data usage at insurance companies.
Read More Locke Lord Privacy Lawyer Authors Article in Best’s Review on Regulations Impacting InsurTechs

Cancellation and nonrenewal requirements applicable to insurance policies exist in every state in the nation. These laws and regulations are founded on the principle that insurance customers should be protected against losing insurance coverage without proper notice and without good reason. As such, many states require that mid-term cancellation of an insurance policy only be effectuated for specific statutorily-defined reasons, and that sufficient advance notice must be given to the insured prior to the cancellation or nonrenewal of an insurance policy.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 7): Applicability of Cancellation and Nonrenewal Requirements to Surplus Lines Insurers and recent updates (Attorney Analysis)

Texas’ legislature is considering bills that would amend Texas’ insurance code to clarify that eligible surplus lines insurers may offer windstorm and hail insurance in areas already served by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (“TWIA”).
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 6): Texas Legislature Considers Bills Clarifying Availability of Wind/Hail Cover from Surplus Lines Carriers

The Surplus Lines Law Group held its spring meeting on Friday, April 5 in Biloxi, Mississippi. A number of presentations were given at the meeting, including updates on the trends around the nation with respect to the diligence search requirement, international tax and cybersecurity issues, as well as a presentation by this author as to the challenges surrounding placing group insurance coverage on a surplus lines basis (including unique hurdles applicable to risk purchasing groups).
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 5): 2019 WSIA Spring Surplus Lines Law Group Meeting Recap and Summary of Trends