Jeanne Kohler (New York) and Antony Woodhouse (London) of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge are attending the Brokers and Reinsurance Markets Association Committee Rendezvous in Naples, Florida to deliver presentations on US and UK legal developments, respectively. …
Read More Report from Brokers and Reinsurance Markets Association Committee Rendezvous in Naples, Florida

On March 26, 2008, New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine, signed into law Assembly Bill 1586, sponsored by Assemblyman Neil Cohen.  The new legislation prohibits unfair discrimination by life insurance companies against individuals based on their travel plans by expanding the definition of unfair discrimination to include “failing to issue, extend, or renew a life insurance policy, or fixing the rates, terms, or conditions of the policy based on an individual’s intent to travel abroad, unless the decision is based on sound actuarial principles.” …
Read More New Jersey Prohibits Travel Discrimination in Life Insurance Policies

The Middle East’s “retakaful” market–reinsurance covering takaful insurance (direct insurance that complies with Islamic law)–continues to expand dramatically.  Takaful insurers are required to purchase reinsurance from companies that comply with Islamic law, unless such coverage is unavailable from those companies. …
Read More Retakaful Market Expanding By Leaps and Bounds

An Illinois federal court recently granted an insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings based on an insured v. insured exclusion, which the court found was triggered by a claim brought “on behalf of” the insured by the insured’s receiver. 

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Read More Illinois Federal Court: Insured v. Insured Exclusion Precludes Coverage For Action Brought By Receiver

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (“Arch”)  has announced it will enter the emerging reinsurance market in the Middle East.  Gulf Re, a new reinsurer backed by Arch and the government-funded entity Gulf Investment Corp., will be based in the Dubai International Financial Centre and begin underwriting in that region upon receiving regulatory approval. 

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Read More Another Reinsurer to Enter the Growing Middle Eastern Market

In what appears to be a matter of first impression in Florida, a federal Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Florida denied the comparative bad faith and comparative negligence defenses in an excess insurer’s bad faith claim against a primary insurer. 

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Read More Comparative Bad Faith Defense Not Available in Florida Suit Between Primary and Excess Insurers

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has launched a new website providing detail about Bermuda’s regulatory standards online, which demonstrates the BMA’s commitment to providing open, transparent regulatory frameworks and requirements. 

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Read More Bermuda Monetary Authority Website Sets Out Detailed Regulatory Standards

A Georgia state court of appeals recently rejected an insured’s argument that an insurance policy’s time limit for bringing suit should be treated as tolled during the period that the insured and the insurer are engaged in settlement negotiations. 

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Read More Georgia State Appeals Court: Settlement Negotiations Do Not Toll Policy’s Time Limit on Bringing Suit Where Insurer Explicitly Reserved Its Rights

On March 25, 2008, the California Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court judgment holding that coverage under an excess policy was not triggered because the primary insurer had neither paid the “full amount” of its policy limits nor become legally obligated to pay the full amount of the primary limits pursuant to the parties’ settlement agreement. 

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Read More California State Court: Coverage Under an Excess Policy is not Triggered until the Underlying Insurer Either Pays Its Own Limits in “Full” or is “Held Liable” For the Full Amount of Its Limits