We have previously reported on the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commissions’ review of insurance contracts law (see our blog here). The Insurance Bill (the Bill), introduced to Parliament on 17 July 2014, contains the latest proposals to revise the law in this area (to view the latest Bill click here). …
Read More UK: Insurance Contract Law Reform – Insurance Bill Introduced to Parliament

On July 17, 2014, the Senate passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014, extending the original Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”) for an additional seven years. If the bill is ultimately signed into law, it will mark a victory for Senator Schumer, who introduced the original version of the bill in April of this year, as well as many industry participants who have been advocating for an extension of TRIA in order to provide clarity and stability with respect to terrorism risks. …
Read More Senate Passes new TRIA Bill; Awaits Response from House

Insurance industry professionals and attorneys are closely following the most recent concussion-based litigations as they proceed through state and federal courts. In the aftermath of such class actions—which have and likely will continue to result in settlements or awards at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars—the focus shifts to the policies of insurers and reinsurers and whether those policies provide coverage for the underlying claims. …
Read More Declaratory Judgment Action Battles Follow Concussion Class Actions

A New York federal court recently held that the timeliness requirement of Section 3420(d)(2) of the New York Insurance Law does not apply to an insurer’s reservation of rights letter. The decision is helpful for carriers that write liability insurance in New York because it delves into the circumstances in which carriers may (and may not) be found to have waived the right to assert certain coverage defenses under Section 3420(d)(2). …
Read More New York Federal Court Holds That Insurance Law Section 3420(d)(2) Does Not Apply To Reservation Of Rights Letter

In Tokio Marine Europe Insurance Limited v Novae Corporate Underwriting Limited [2014] EWHC 2105 (Comm), Mr Justice Field granted an application by Tokio Marine Europe Insurance Limited (Tokio) for summary judgment, holding that a defence raised by Novae Corporate Underwriting Limited (Novae) that the underlying settlement was entered into without the insured having taken all proper and businesslike steps had no reasonable prospect of success. …
Read More UK: Commercial Court Grants Summary Judgment in Relation to a Follow the Settlements Clause

On 27 June 2014, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales sanctioned the solvent scheme of arrangement made by J.K. Buckenham Limited and its Scheme Creditors pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 which was voted on and approved by the Scheme Creditors during the meeting held on 4 June 2014. …
Read More High Court sanctions J.K. Buckenham Limited’s scheme of arrangement

Theodore Augustinos, Mark Schreiber, Thomas Smedinghoff, and Karen Booth, members of Edwards Wildman’s Privacy & Data Protection Practice Group, discuss major amendments to Florida’s breach notification statute, which will take effect July 1, 2014. …
Read More Edwards Wildman Client Advisory: Major Amendments to Florida Breach Notification Statute: Unique Requirements and Short Deadlines Take Effect July 1

We previously reported on the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commissions’ (the Commissions) review of insurance contract law and the draft Insurance Contracts Bill (the Bill) published in May 2014 (see our blog here). The Commissions have published a further draft of the Bill and draft Explanatory Notes which will accompany the Bill if and when the Bill is enacted (to view the Bill click here and to view the draft Explanatory Notes click here). …
Read More UK: Law Commissions Publish Further Draft of the Insurance Contracts Bill

Coming on the heels of a recent NATO report that Russia is again massing troops near its border with Ukraine, the Office of Foreign Asset Control, part of the United States Treasury Department, announced the following new additions to the Specially Designated National List under its Ukraine-Related Sanctions Program: …
Read More The United States Treasury Department Names Seven Additional Ukrainian Separatists and Russian Nationals to the Specially Designated National List