Secretary of the Treasury Jacob (Jack) Lew will preside over an executive session of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) on Wednesday, March 11 at the Treasury Department. On the preliminary agenda is a discussion of central counterparties and an update on the Council’s 2015 annual report. In addition, the…
Read More Secretary Lew to Preside Over an Executive Session of the Financial Stability Oversight Council on March 11

David Mattax was confirmed as the Texas Insurance Commissioner on February 24, 2015 by the Texas Senate. David Mattax was appointed to the position by Governor Greg Abbott on January 21, 2015. The Senate voted unanimously to approve Mattax following a nominations hearing on February 19. David Mattax replaces Julia…
Read More Texas Insurance Commissioner Confirmed

In it Together: Emerging Joint Venture Structures for Hospitals and Insurers

Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act (the ACA), hospitals and physician practice groups, on the one hand, and health insurance and managed care companies, on the other hand, increasingly have focused on lowering health care delivery costs…
Read More Insights into emerging joint ventures for insurers and hospitals focus of Bloomberg BNA article from Locke Lord

The California Department of Insurance issued a bulletin on February 18, 2015 advising insurers that they may not use “price optimization” as a rating factor in California. The Department defines price optimization as “any method of taking into account an individual’s or class’s willingness to pay a higher premium relative…
Read More California Department Bans Price Optimization

The NAIC’s Private Equity Issues Working Group has exposed for comment the attached, proposed revised guidance to be added to Financial Analysis Handbook related to reviewing Change In Control Applications . Comments are due by Wednesday, March 11, 2015 and will be discussed at the NAIC National Meeting in…
Read More Private Equities Working Group Exposed Revised Guidance Until COB Wednesday, March 11

Federal Insurance Office (FIO) Director Michael McRaith announced during the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) meeting last week that the FACI is expected to issue its recommendations on retirement security, capital standards, and cybersecurity by the next FACI meeting in May.

During the February 10th meeting, FACI members heard…
Read More FIO’s McRaith Announces Upcoming Reports from Advisory Committee on Retirement Security, Capital Standards and Cybersecurity

As further analyzed in our QuickStudy, available here, New Jersey has enacted a new law (P.L. 2014, c. 88, codified at N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 56:8-196 – 56:8-198) effective August 1, 2015, requiring health insurance carriers authorized to issue health benefit plans in New Jersey to encrypt personal information…
Read More Attention, Health Insurers: Unique Encryption Requirements in NJ

On February 9, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy wrote a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman expressing his concern over their departments’ consideration of preempting state insurance regulation by potentially negotiating a “covered agreement” with foreign authorities. Such an agreement…
Read More Connecticut Governor Urges Treasury and the Office of U.S. Trade Representatives to Leave Reductions in Collateral Requirements of Reinsurers to the States

In a recent decision, a Massachusetts trial court addressed whether an insurer could recoup previously-paid indemnity and defense costs from its insured. Finding that the insured had not obtained the payments as a result of fraud or bad faith, and that the insurer had failed to cite policy language permitting…
Read More Massachusetts Court Rejects Insurer’s Attempt to Recoup Defense and Indemnity Payments

Co-Authored by: Ben Sykes and Barry Weissman

During a special meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on February 8, members elected Missouri Insurance Director John M. Huff to the office of NAIC President-Elect. The office was vacated on January 20 when former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael F.

Read More New NAIC President – Elect