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A Massachusetts-based furniture store, Jordan’s Furniture, ran a “Monster Deal” promotion (named for the left field Green Monster in Fenway Park) this past spring that promised to customers a full refund on certain furniture purchased between March 7th and April 16th if the Red Sox were to win the World Series.  The refund applies to sofas, dining tables, beds and mattresses. …
Read More If Red Sox Win the World Series, Boston Area Furniture Retailer, Backed by an Insurance Policy, Will Pay Full Refund for Sales Made in the Spring

Linda A. Watters resigned from her post as Commissioner of the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (the “OFIS”) on October 15, 2007, effective October 31.  Watters, who was named Commissioner of OFIS on April 11, 2003, will join the financial risk management practice of KPMG LLP in Chicago. 

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Read More Michigan Commissioner Linda Watters Resigns

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an insurer of municipal bonds does not have standing to bring an action for federal securities fraud under Rule 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Act (“the Act”). 

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Read More 11th Circuit – Municipal Bond Insurer Does Not Have Standing to Bring Securities and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5 Claim

On October 25, 2007, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge will sponsor the first event of the U.S. chapter of the Reinsurance 40 and Under Group (“Reinsurance Under 40s”), a new and exciting organization open to all professionals in the reinsurance industry under the age of 40. 

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Read More Reinsurance Under 40’s Event to Take Place on October 25, 2007 in New York

On September 26, 2007, William R. Berkley, Chairman and C.E.O. of W.R. Berkley Corporation, the ninth largest commercial insurer in the U.S., addressed the Senate Finance Committee concerning an alleged flaw in the current U.S. tax system that provides certain economic advantages to foreign property and casualty insurers domiciled in favorable tax jurisdictions, such as Bermuda. 

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Read More U.S. Insurers Urge Congress to Modify Provisions of Current Tax Law Related to Foreign Insurers

On October 9, the Connecticut Attorney General (the “CT AG”) filed a Complaint against Guy Carpenter and Excess Reinsurance Inc.  The Complaint is 107 pages long and contains numerous highly-disputed allegations about the structure of the reinsurance markets over the last fifty years as well as hotly contested claims about the activities of the participants in certain reinsurance facilities. 

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Read More Connecticut AG Files Complaint against Guy Carpenter and Excess Re – Direct Summary

On October 9, 2007, North  Dakota Governor John Hoeven appointed Adam Hamm, 36, as the new Insurance Commissioner of North   Dakota.   On October 22, Hamm will succeed Jim Poolman, whose resignation became effective on September 1, 2007  before his term expired to become an insurance industry consultant. 

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Read More Adam Hamm Appointed as New North Dakota Insurance Commissioner

Industry analysts have proclaimed that the Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) between the United States and South Korea  represents one of the most commercially significant expansions of the U.S. insurance market in recent history .  The FTA was executed on June 30, 2007 and is presently awaiting congressional approval. 

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Read More Pending U.S.-Korea Treaty Could Expand U.S. Insurance Market

Following a Rhode Island jury’s verdict in 2006 that three manufacturers of lead paint created a public nuisance when they manufactured and sold the paint, the state’s Attorney General, Patrick C. Lynch, has filed a plan to abate lead in houses and buildings in Rhode Island. 

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Read More Rhode Island Proposes That Paint Makers Fund a $2.4 Billion Lead Abatement Plan

Over two years ago, the European Commission (“EC”) initiated an inquiry into the state of competition in the European Union (“EU”) business insurance industry.  In explaining the purpose of the inquiry, the EC notes in its Final Report that “[t]aking into account indications that competition in this sector within the common market may be restricted or distorted, the sector inquiry aimed at further investigating the sector and the practices concerned with a view to ultimately identifying any concrete restrictive practices or distortions of competition that may fall within the scope of Articles 81 or 82 of the Treaty.” 

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Read More European Commission Issues Final Report on Business Insurance Industry