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This updates our July 31, 2009 posting.  On August 19, 2009, Michigan’s House Insurance Committee advanced the package of “bad faith” bills (House bills 4244, 4844, 4858, 5020, 5144-5151) by voting to toughen penalties for insurance companies that deny or delay valid claims. 

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Read More Michigan’s House Insurance Committee Advances “Bad Faith” Legislation

The New York Insurance Department issued proposed Regulation No. 192 (11 NYCRR) (the “Proposed Regulation”) establishing minimum reserve and nonforfeiture standards for preneed life insurance policies (i.e. policies that provide a prearrangement agreement for goods and services to be provided upon the death of the insured). …
Read More New York Issues Proposed Regulation to establish Minimum Standards for Determining Reserve Liabilities and Nonforfeiture Values for Preneed Life Insurance

On August 4, 2009, Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart announced that the Department of Insurance (the “Department”) has established the new Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products (the “Bureau”) to dedicate more resources to the regulation of captives and make the regulatory process more efficient. 

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Read More Delaware Department of Insurance Establishes Captive Bureau

This updates our March 30, 2009 posting.  On July 27, 2009, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) released a revised draft of the Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Act of 2009 (the “Act”), which was the result of a proposal adopted at its 2008 Winter Meeting to modernize reinsurance regulation. 

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Read More NAIC Releases Second Draft of Federal Legislation for Implementation of Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Framework

On August 10, 2009, New York Governor David Patterson signed legislation continuing the freeze on medical malpractice rates.  In addition to the premium rate freeze, the legislation also suspended an anticipated surcharge.  The Legislature projected that without the freeze, medical malpractice rates would have increased by as much as 30% for some physicians. 

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Read More New York Freezes Medical Malpractice Rates For Additional Year

As the House of Representatives prepared to leave for its month-long August recess last week, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced legislation to repeal a controversial tax deduction used by foreign reinsurers.  The bill, H.R. 3424, would disallow the deduction for excess non-taxed reinsurance premiums with respect to United States risks paid to affiliates. 

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Read More Insurance and Financial Regulatory Reform Update

On 27 July 2009,  the Financial Services Authority (the FSA) issued PS09/14: “The approved persons regime – significant influence function review” (the Policy Statement) confirming that it will extend the approved persons regime for those that perform a ‘significant influence’ function at firms. The changes are aimed at better reflecting the corporate governance structures that exist within firms. 

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Read More Financial Services Authority Confirms Changes to the Rules for Approved Persons

As previously reported here, House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (D.-Calif.) and committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) sponsored HR 3139 to temporarily extend the National Flood Insurance Program (the “NFIP”) for a six-month period through March 31, 2010.  Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 3139. …
Read More U.S. House Votes to Extend the NFIP

As previously discussed here and here, the United States Treasury Department has recently submitted a proposal to form a Financial Services Oversight Council (the “Council”) composed of various federal regulators to coordinate financial services regulation and oversight, but would not include any state regulators that have a specific insurance or reinsurance regulatory background. …
Read More State Regulators Vie for Seat on the Newly Proposed Financial Services Oversight Council