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On June 13, 2011, Illinois Insurance Commissioner Michael T. McRaith became the first Director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO).  The FIO was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, which was instituted last year. …
Read More Illinois Insurance Commissioner McRaith Becomes First Director of FIO

Airmic (the UK Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce) has issued a research paper asserting that the remedy of avoidance ab initio for non-disclosure of material information is only appropriate if (i) the non-disclosure has been fraudulent; or (ii) the insurer would not have written the business on any terms had the information been disclosed. The paper provides that: “In simple terms, Airmic has the view that any remedy should be proportionate to the nature of the non-disclosure and the circumstances that gave rise to that non-disclosure“. …
Read More UK: Airmic Proposes Non-Disclosure/Misrepresentation Clause

As 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. …
Read More Connecticut Health Insurance Rate Increase Symposia Law Passes Through Legislature to Governor’s Desk

Late last month, the Tennessee legislature passed the “Amended and Restated Tennessee Captive Insurance Act” (HB 2007/SB 1540) (the “Act”) in an effort to increase its attractiveness as a domiciliary state.  The Act amends the current law by authorizing the formation of sponsored captive insurance companies (including protected cells), branched captive insurance companies and special purpose financial captives. …
Read More Tennessee Passes Legislation to Revamp Captive Insurance Laws

On June 8, 2011, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the appointment of Assemblyman Jonathan Bing to serve as Special Deputy Superintendent of the New York Liquidation Bureau, an agency tasked with protecting policyholders and creditors of insurance companies that have gone bankrupt.  Bing steps in as the successor to Dennis J. Hayes, who was appointed to the position in September 2009. …
Read More Governor Cuomo Appoints Assemblyman Jonathan Bing to Head New York Liquidation Bureau

Last year, the Law Commission questioned whether Section 53 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (the MIA) should be reformed (Issues Paper 8) and whether Section 22 of the MIA should be repealed (Issues Paper 9). A summary of responses to each of these papers has been published. …
Read More UK: Insurance Contract Law Reform – Responses to Issues Papers 8 and 9 Issued

As part of a coordinated national investigation, California state insurance regulators held a hearing on May 23, 2011 to probe one particular life insurer’s claims settlement practices. Just as in the Florida hearing described in our May 20, 2011 advisory, at issue was the life insurer’s use of the Social Security Death Master File (DMF), a publically-available database containing information on deceased Americans. …
Read More Client Advisory – California Announces Investigation of Life Insurers’ Use of Social Security Death Master List and Compliance With Unclaimed Property Laws

This is an update as to the efforts of various state insurance regulators, and attorneys general, to coordinate an investigation of life insurance claims settlement practices. Specifically, insurance regulators have been investigating a number of large life insurance companies regarding the purported failure to pay, or undue delay in remittance of, death benefits to beneficiaries of life insurance and allied products. …
Read More Client Advisory – State Insurance Regulators Coordinate Investigation of Life Insurers’ Compliance With Unclaimed Property Laws

he Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (“IIABNY”) announced in a press release last week that it will appeal a lower court’s decision to uphold Regulation 194, last discussed here, which requires mandatory producer compensation disclosure.  The appeal will be filed with the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Third Department in Albany sometime this summer. …
Read More Industry Trade Group Continues Battle Against New York Producer Compensation Disclosure Rule