On April 15, 2014, legislation was passed in Vermont enhancing the state’s captive law. H.563, known as “An Act Relating To Captive Insurance Laws And Accreditation Standards,” allows a “dormant” captive to maintain licensing status within Vermont. …
Read More “Dormant Status” Now Granted Under Vermont Captives Law

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has given final approval for Intel Corp. to use its Hawaii-based captive insurer to reinsure group term life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment policies issued by Minnesota Life Insurance Co. …
Read More U.S. Department of Labor Gives Final Approval for Intel Corp. to Use its Hawaiian Captive Insurer to Fund Certain Employee Benefit Risks

New York’s latest budget agreement was announced on March 30, 2014 and includes a measure to provide the Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) with authority to issue licenses to title insurance agents for the first time. …
Read More New York to License Title Insurance Agents for the First Time

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has adopted new rules implementing provisions of the Texas Insurance Code that remove regulatory barriers for captives. The new rules go into effect on April 27, 2014. …
Read More Texas Regulators Adopt Rules Implementing Captive Insurance Laws

The New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) has issued subpoenas to four insurers as part of an ongoing probe into violations of U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. …
Read More Four Insurers Subpoenaed as Part of Iranian Sanctions Investigation; Suspected of Insuring Foreign Commodities Trader Accused of Violating Trade Sanctions against Iran

On 25 March 2014, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong) signed an agreement with the Government of the United States of America (US) relating to the exchange of information relating to taxes. This is the first TIEA signed by Hong Kong. …
Read More Hong Kong Signed its First Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) With US

A bipartisan group of senators have co-sponsored a measure to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”) for the next seven years. TRIA, which is set to expire at the end of 2014, was put into place after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. …
Read More U.S. Senators Announce Bipartisan Agreement to Extend TRIA

We have been closely following the progress of a Massachusetts bill that would realign the Commonwealth’s reinsurance regulations to make them more consistent with the increasingly global nature of insurance and reinsurance markets. …
Read More Massachusetts House Committee Revises Proposed Reinsurance Credit Legislation

Following up on our earlier Insurance and Reinsurance Blog on this matter (the relevant post can be found here), the Internal Revenue Service today filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of the recent United States District Court decision in the Validus case (holding that the excise tax imposed on the foreign insurance/reinsurance of U.S. risks by Section 4371 of the Internal Revenue Code does not apply to retrocession policies). …
Read More Internal Revenue Service Files Appeal in the Validus Excise Tax Case