The California Supreme Court is poised to answer the following unsettled question of California law certified by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 22, 2016 (see order here):   “Whether there is an ‘occurrence’ under an employer’s commercial general liability policy when an injured third party brings

Read More Liberty v. Ledesma and Meyer Construction, Case No. 14-56120 (9th Cir. 2016)

A new South Carolina Supreme Court decision has upheld a pro rata allocation of progressive damages. In the January 11, 2017 opinion in Harleysville Group Insurance v. Heritage Communities, Inc., et al., the court described that two property owners’ associations sued various Heritage companies, alleging the associations’ homeowners were
Read More South Carolina Endorses Pro Rata Allocation

As previously reported and explained here, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) promulgated a proposed regulation mandating cybersecurity requirements for all licensees, including insurance companies and producers, banks, and others. In response to 150 comments received from the industry, a revised proposed regulation was published December
Read More New Cybersecurity Requirements coming for NYS DFS Insurers, Producers, and Other Licensees

Effective on December 31, 2016, New York Senate Bill 7536 was signed into law enacting New York Insurance Law Section 201 (“Section 201”). Section 201 establishes the State Insurance Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) composed of seventeen members appointed by the New York Superintendent. Of the seventeen members, nine will
Read More New York Passes New Insurance Law Establishing State Insurance Advisory Board

The Illinois Department of Insurance (“DOI”) has issued a notice of proposed amendments to the Insurance Department Consumer Complaints Rule ( 50 Ill. Adm. Code 926). The amendments will permit the DOI to share information related to a complaint against an entity licensed or registered under the Insurance Chapter (215)
Read More Illinois Department of Insurance Proposes Amendments to Insurance Department Consumer Complaints Rule

On December 29, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2017-08, extending the disclosure deadlines for participants in and material advisors to certain micro-captive transactions.

Prior guidance from the Service, issued in Notice 2016-66, had identified certain micro-captive transactions as “transactions of interest” and indicated that the general disclosure requirements
Read More Disclosure Deadlines Extended for Participants in and Material Advisors to Micro-Captive Transactions

This week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) promulgated additional rules affecting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”), which had been recently reauthorized in late 2015 (the “Rules”). Of particular note is that, in accordance with the recent reauthorization, Treasury is obligated to collect data on the terrorism market
Read More U.S. Department of Treasury Issues New TRIA Rules

“Surplus Note”

A hybrid corporate finance instrument unique to insurance companies which constitutes surplus (equity) for insurance law and statutory accounting purposes yet generally constitutes debt for federal income tax purposes, which is similar to subordinated debt and sits above the stockholders, but below general creditors, of the issuing insurance company.

Read More InsureTerms™/Terminology for the Consummate Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyer: “Surplus Note”

The Illinois Department of Insurance (“DOI”) will hold a public hearing on December 19 in Chicago regarding proposed amendments to the Illinois Administrative Code that address insurance policy rescissions. The DOI proposed the amendments in light of numerous complaints regarding rescissions based on an alleged misrepresentations or material changes in
Read More Public Hearing Scheduled Regarding Proposed Illinois Rescission Rule

Locke Lord Attorneys’ Brian Casey and Patrick Hatfield, will be part of the panel of experts on December 13 that will discuss the regulatory requirements of e-posting and e-delivery and the best practices to keep in mind to ensure maximum adoption.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016
2:00 PM EST – 3:00

Read More You’re Invited to a Complimentary Webcast: “Regulatory Requirements for Insurance E delivery and E-posting”