Topic: Reinsurance

Earlier this month, United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Banking, ‎Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, urged the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and the ‎National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to examine the increasing role of ‎private equity and alternative investment classes in the life insurance market as well as ‎offshore reinsurance. ‎

Arbitration awards may only be vacated in certain limited circumstances.

Plaintiff often use ‘bad faith’ as a cudgel to intimidate insurers in what is usually nothing more than a breach of contract cause of action. A recent decision suggests that, at least in Alabama, it is a tactic that may be unavailable in the context of reinsurance.

Much of American law is derivative of British law, and this is particularly true in the realm of reinsurance law.  In the UK, courts distinguish between ‘follow the fortunes clauses’ and ‘follow the settlements clauses’ and attribute different meanings to each, which is often a significant factor in the determining claims and coverage related issues.  Unlike the UK, courts in the US appear not to distinguish between the two clauses, and often refer to them interchangeably, as was the case in Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. OneBeacon Ins. Co., No. 14 CIV. 4718, 2020 WL 6135101 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 19, 2020).

The NAIC has scheduled an Executive Committee meeting on June 25, 2019 to consider finalizing proposed revisions to the NAIC Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation (Models).  It is anticipated that the Executive Committee will adopt the revised Models during this meeting.