Thomas B. Leonardi, Commissioner of the Connecticut Insurance Department, was elected as the secretary of the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s (“NAIC”) Northeast Zone during the NAIC’s Fall 2011 meeting. As part of this position, Commissioner Leonardi will also serve on the NAIC’s Executive Committee.
Read MoreConnecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi told the Connecticut legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee on Tuesday, November 15th, that the Connecticut Insurance Department (the “CID”) is currently considering options to revise requirements governing hurricane deductibles. Commissioner Leonardi reported that following Hurricane Irene, Connecticut residents filed 58,002 claims, and as of October 31st, 64 days after the hurricane, $161 million have been paid to policyholders.
Read MoreOn September 23, 2011, the head of the Connecticut Insurance Department (the “CID”), Commissioner Thomas Leonardi, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”), the governmental body responsible for financial regulation in Switzerland.
Read MoreOn August 17, 2011, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi released a statement titled “Solvency II: ‘One Size Does Not Fit All’,” in which he warns that adopting Solvency II (as previously reported here) standards in the U.S. could “weaken consumer protections and stability of insurers.” The comments came during an online forum hosted by Price Waterhouse Coopers regarding, among other topics, solvency regulation.
Read MoreThe law firms of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP and Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP today announced that they will merge on October 1, 2011 (you can read the press release here). The new firm, with 13 offices and 650 lawyers, will be known as Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
Read MoreIn a 77-page decision handed down this morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the convictions of five former insurance executives whom prosecutors had alleged engaged in a fraudulent reinsurance transaction. A new trial has been ordered. United States v. Ferguson, et al., No. 08-6211-cr (L) (2d Cir. Aug. 1, 2011). A copy of the court’s decision is available here.
Read MoreThe Second Circuit has declared that a bond insurer’s D&O program was obligated to pay costs incurred by an independent consultant who was hired during the course of settlement negotiations, despite the carrier’s claimed lack of an effective association in the settlement. MBIA, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Company and ACE American Insurance Company, No. 10-355 (2d Cir. July 1, 2011).
In 2008, shopping mall owner Front Gate brought suit against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, accusing it of mishandling property damage claims resulting from wind and rain. During the course of the litigation, Sunil Chand, an employee of Primero, a contractor for Front Gate, contacted Fireman’s Fund attorney Melissa Dubbs at the law firm of Carlson Calladine & Peterson LLP and provided her with documents evidencing insurance fraud on Front Gate’s behalf.
Read MoreA federal court recently denied a cedent’s motion to transfer a lawsuit commenced by its reinsurer from New York to Connecticut. The cedent argued that the case should be transferred because the issues involved were related to similar lawsuits commenced by the cedent against other reinsurers in Connecticut, and because the action could have been brought in that forum.
Read MoreAs we originally reported here, the Connecticut Legislature’s proposed bill, S.B. 11, An Act Concerning the Rate Approval Process for Certain Health Insurance Policies, if enacted, would expand the current rate approval process as administered by the Connecticut Department of Insurance for proposed increases of 10% or more for health and long-term care insurance. The bill has recently passed both the House and the Senate in the legislative body’s third attempt to get such a bill to the governor’s desk.
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