The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a private letter ruling on December 11, 2009, resolving a taxpayer’s question as to whether its business as a captive reinsurer is “insurance” for tax purposes.  The IRS provides private letter rulings upon individual taxpayer request in which the IRS interprets and applies tax law to a taxpayer’s specific set of facts. 


Read More In Private Letter Ruling, IRS Says Captive Reinsurance of Fronted Pools is “Insurance” for Tax Purposes

In April 2009, the Minnesota Department of Commerce (the “Department”) summarily suspended the insurance licenses of Michael Antonello and the insurance agency for which he served as chairman, Wealth Management Advisors, LLC (“Wealth Management”), for alleged dishonest practices in connection with the sale of life insurance policies and related Stranger Originated Life Insurance (“STOLI”) transactions. 


Read More Minnesota Department of Commerce Revokes Producer License in an Insurable-Interest Case

Most public companies will need to provide new disclosures about corporate governance, director qualifications and compensation matters in proxy statements for their 2010 annual meetings. 
Read More Client Advisory – SEC Requires Additional Corporate Governance and Compensation Disclosure for 2010 Annual Meetings

Privacy and data breaches are part of every company’s nightmare of what can go wrong. There is no company in any industry that is not exposed to risks and liabilities related to unauthorized access to personal information of individuals. The risk of data breaches, and the regulations governing company obligations to secure data, and to provide notification in the event of a breach, are increasing dramatically. 
Read More EAPD WEBINAR LINK: Privacy and Data Breaches

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, proposed on December 16, 2009 rebuilding the barriers separating commercial banks, investment banks and insurers established under the Depression Era Glass-Steagall Act.  In 1999, the requirements that the three industries remain separate were eliminated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. 
Read More Unscrambling the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Omelet

Congress recently approved another short-term extension of The National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) through February 28, 2010.  The NFIP extension was included in a defense appropriations measure, and was approved shortly before the program was to expire. 


Read More UPDATE: Congress Approves Another Short-Term Extension of the NFIP through February 28, 2010

Media reports indicate that Senator Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) amendment to repeal the antitrust exemption under the McCarran-Ferguson Act for health insurers and medical mal practice insurers, last discussed here, has been removed from the latest version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). 


Read More Partial Repeal of McCarran-Ferguson Act Dropped from Senate Health Reform Bill

The new Lugano Convention enters into force in the European Union and Norway on 1 January 2010. It will replace the 1988 Lugano Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters. 


Read More UK: Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/3131) Will Bring the New Lugano Convention into Force in the UK on 1 January 2010