Latin American countries are liberalizing their regulatory schemes to conform to the nations’ free trade agreements with Europe and the United States and to satisfy internal demands for better pricing and products.  With economic conditions continuing to deteriorate in many of the world’s largest economies, international companies are taking a closer look at Latin America as a potential alternative market for investment and operations. 
Read More Free Webinar: (Re)emerging Mercados: Significant Recent Developments in the Latin American Insurance and Reinsurance Markets

On January 21, 2009, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge’s Privacy Group will host a complimentary breakfast seminar (in the firm’s Boston office) on the new security and privacy requirements in Massachusetts. 


Read More Upcoming Seminar on New Massachusetts Security Rules & What You Need to Do to Comply by May 1

On 27 November 2008, the European Commission (EC) published its Green Paper on Consumer Collective Redress. The paper proposes new methods to help large numbers of consumers who have been harmed by a trader’s breach of consumer law. 


Read More EU : European Commission Publishes Green Paper on Consumer Collective Redress

AIG announced yesterday that it had completed a sale of residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”) to Maiden Lane II, a fund established by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “NY Fed”) as part of its plan to ensure AIG remains solvent.  The assets, with a face value of $39.3 billion, were purchased by Maiden Lane II for $19.8 billion.  The fund was established to eliminate the liquidity issues associated with AIG’s securities lending program. 
Read More AIG Completes Sale of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities to the NY Fed

Four of the companies that have organized under the Puerto Rican International Insurance Center announced recently that they have created an association to promote Puerto Rico’s competitiveness in the international insurance and reinsurance markets. 
Read More Puerto Rican Offshore Insurance Companies Create Association

Rather than remembering to check our blog every day for the latest news and developments in insurance and reinsurance, why not register for our daily email update and receive our latest posts directly in your Inbox?  Each weekday by 9:30 a.m. Eastern U.S. time, we send out an email listing the topics about which we wrote the previous day. 


Read More Take The Easy Way Out–Subscribe To Our Daily Email Update

On December 1, 2008, Risk Specialties Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of AIG Commercial Insurance announced its plan to offer Takaful homeowners insurance in the United States, the first installment in a series of insurance products compliant with Islamic Shar’iah law.  In a press release, AIG stated “we’re pleased to offer socially responsible solutions to this segment of the domestic market [U.S.].” 


Read More AIG to Offer Takaful Insurance Products in the United States

In a survey of reinsurers’ statutory underwriting results conducted by the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), a group of 20 U. S. property‑casualty reinsurers wrote $19.0 billion of net premiums during the nine-months ended September 30, 2008, an increase of $1.1 billion from the same period in 2007. 


Read More RAA Releases Nine-Months 2008 Underwriting Results

Last month, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a release (“Release”) setting forth a roadmap (“Roadmap”) for the potential use by U.S. issuers of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, rather than statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP accounting standards. 


Read More SEC Proposes Roadmap for the use of International Financial Reporting Standards

As part of the Treasury’s effort to inject capital into the credit markets, the Treasury initiated the Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”) in October.  Access to the CPP was expanded on November 17, 2008 to include certain privately-held companies. 
Read More The U.S. Department of the Treasury Term Sheet for Privately Held Financial Institutions Applying for the Capital Purchase Program