The Illinois Department of Insurance (“ IL DOI”) has proposed an amendment to Illinois’ insurer record retention requirements, which would significantly reduce reporting, book-keeping and retention obligations. The current regulation, 50 Ill. Adm. Code 901.20, requires that, prior to destruction, Illinois domestic insurers submit to the IL DOI an affidavit…

Read More Illinois Insurance Department Proposes Amendment to Cumbersome Records Retention and Destruction Requirements

On October 26, 2015, three life insurance companies (the “Kemper Companies”) filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Treasurer (the “Treasurer”) and private auditing firm, Verus Financial LLC, over the Treasurer’s unclaimed property audits of the Kemper Companies. The lawsuit is the latest litigation between life insurers and state regulators…

Read More Illinois Treasurer Lawsuit Highlights Contingency Fee Risks in Unclaimed Property Audits

The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General recently settled another in a series of cases in which a health insurer sold health care policies which did not include coverage for certain benefits that Massachusetts law requires be provided by any group insurance policy. In this case the insurer, The Insurance…

Read More Another Health Insurer Tripped Up By The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Mandatory Minimum Benefits Requirements

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance recently issued a bulletin providing guidance to the Tennessee captive insurance industry on credit for reinsurance obtained by Tennessee captives from unauthorized reinsurers. Pursuant to Tennessee Insurance Code Section 56-13-112, the Department makes an initial determination whether to allow a Tennessee captive insurance…

Read More Tennessee Issues Bulletin Re Reinsurance Ceded to Unauthorized Reinsurers by Tennessee Captives

Within an environment of increased federal and state regulatory emphasis on health insurance related issues arising due to the passage by the U.S. Congress of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) has drafted new and potentially transformative rules relating to medical…

Read More New Texas Medical Stop-Loss Rules Drafted by Texas Department of Insurance

New York’s Department of Financial Services is once again changing personnel ; Acting Superintendent Anthony Albanese gave notice that he will be leaving the agency.

Albanese has been Acting Superintendent of Financial Services — which was created in 2011 after the merger of the state’s banking and insurance departments —…

Read More New York’s Acting Superintendent Albanese Announces His Departure

A panel of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) recently approved a preliminary framework that may pave the way towards eliminating variable annuities captive reinsurance transactions. The framework, which changes parts of the capital and reserve framework that creates incentives to use such captives, is scheduled to be discussed…

Read More NAIC Panel Approval May Pave Way Towards Elimination of Variable Annuity Captives

Last week, an NAIC task force moved forward in recommending a cybersecurity “bill of rights” that insurance regulators could provide consumers, essentially creating an expectation of notice of a breach “never more than 60 days” after a breach, and the right to one year of free credit monitoring. Insurance industry…

Read More NAIC Cybersecurity “Bill of Rights” Wrong to Many Insurers

In its commitment to address risks of Global Systemically Important Insurers (“G-SIIs”) on the global financial system, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (“IAIS”) recently announced completion of its development of the Higher Loss Absorbency (“HLA”) requirement for G-SIIs. The HLA was established to help reduce the impact of the…
Read More International Association of Insurance Supervisors Completes Higher Loss Absorbency Requirement for Global Systemically Important Insurers

An Illinois trial court recently addressed the issue of whether an insurer exhausted its limits of liability in paying nearly $90 million for an insured’s defense and indemnity associated with asbestos bodily injury claims.  CNA issued umbrella and excess insurance to Borg-Warner Corporation and contended that the occurrence limits of…
Read More Illinois Court: Multi-year Policy Limits Applied To Entire Policy Period, Not Annually, And Payments For Potentially Covered Claims Established Exhaustion