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According to a recent article in the New York Times, insurance and reinsurance companies from Japan and abroad, as well as hedge funds and other investors in catastrophe bonds, are expected to bear a relatively small portion of the losses stemming from the earthquake and resulting tsunami, which is expected to exceed $100 billion.  By way of comparison, the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan resulted in approximately $100 billion of damages, according to the Insurance Information Institute, but only about $3 billion of that was covered by insurance. …
Read More Japan’s Government Will Likely Bear Most of the Damages Resulting from the Earthquake

Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge’s Insurance and Reinsurance Department recently published its latest Newsletter, Insurance & Reinsurance Review – March 2011, which contains nine articles about various topics in the insurance and reinsurance industry. …
Read More Insurance & Reinsurance Review – March 2011

Of special interest to compliance professionals.  Vince Vitkowsky will be speaking at the Privacy & Data Protection Conference USA symposium on Data Protection:  Global Compliance Management, to be held on May 24 in Chicago.  His topic is “SARs in the Current Climate”.  The complete agenda and registration materials can be found here. …
Read More EAPD Attorney to Speak at Conference on Data Protection: Global Compliance Management

In Association belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats ASBL v Conseil des ministres [2001] C-236/09 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that taking the gender of an insured individual into account as a risk factor in setting premiums for insurance contracts constituted discrimination and was in breach of EU rules on equality. …
Read More EU: ECJ Gender Ruling to Increase Costs of Insurance

EAPD is sponsoring today’s ARC Congress in London. EAPD partner, Mark Everiss, who is a Director of ARC, has just chaired an interesting discussion on UK Asbestos/EL Trigger Issues/ ELTO by a prestigious panel of experts – EAPD partner Richard Hopley, Professor Duncan Geddes of Royal Brompton Hospital, Ian Willett of MMI, Colin Wynter QC of Devereux Chambers and Helen Hatchek of RSA. …
Read More ARC Congress, London, 23 February 2011

Earlier this week, Jeff Atwater, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), announced several high-level appointments at the Florida Department of Financial Services (the “Department”), including the appointment of an Inspector General and new directors for the Divisions of Treasury, Consumer Services, and Agent and Agency Services. …
Read More New Leadership Roles Announced at the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

William P. White has been selected to be the new Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (“DISB”) by Mayor Vincent Gray.  He has significant experience in the insurance industry, particularly with alternative risk transfer (ART) transactions and captive insurance companies. …
Read More White Selected As Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued its opinion in Trustmark Ins. Co. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., a case that both the reinsurance and general arbitration communities have been following closely.  In a unanimous opinion, the Seventh Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision to hold that a party-appointed arbitrator’s prior involvement in an earlier arbitration between the parties did not disqualify him or render him incapable of serving in a subsequent arbitration involving related issues. …
Read More Seventh Circuit Unanimously Lifts Injunction Issued in Arbitration, Holding that Arbitrator’s Service in Prior Arbitration Between the Parties Involving Overlapping Issues Did Not Disqualify Him from Serving in Subsequent Arbitration

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy announced today his appointment of Thomas Leonardi as the new Insurance Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Insurance.  Leonardi currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Northington Partners, Inc., an insurance specialty venture capital and investment banking firm, where he has worked with insurance companies on strategic, investment, capital raising and financial advisory matters. …
Read More New Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Announced Today