On July 1, 2026, the New York Department of Financial Services (the NYDFS) published Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (the Letter) regarding “2026 Motor Vehicle Insurance Reforms.” The Letter, addressed to “All Insurers Authorized to Write Motor Vehicle Insurance in New York State, the New York Automobile Insurance Plan, and Rate Service Organizations” concerns changes to the New York Insurance Law, Penal Law, and Civil Practice Law and Rules (the CPLR) relating to motor vehicle insurance as a result of Chapters 55 and 58 of the Laws of 2026 being signed into law on May 27 and May 26, 2026, respectively. The overarching purpose of the amendments was to “address drivers of rising costs affecting motor vehicle insurance premiums, including fraudulent and abusive claims practices, and to ensure that insurers obtain prior approval before increasing motor vehicle insurance rates.”

Across every part of the insurance industry, our attorneys are at work and the recognition is following. This blog has featured updates about state rate filing overhauls and market conduct enforcement, surplus lines diligent-effort requirements and NRRA home state complexities, NAIC annuity illustration practices, captive structures for InsurTechs, and professional liability coverage decisions. Keeping pace with that range takes a legal team that can move between transactions, regulations, and disputes with ease and precision.

Last month the NAIC Capital Markets Bureau issued a Special Report finding that despite an in increase in the number of private equity (“PE”) owned U.S. insurers, investment volume held by PE-owned insurers declined as of year-end 2021.  The NAIC Special Report is timely coming off a Senate Banking Committee hearing earlier in the month in which some members expressed concern at the rapid expansion of PE firms into the insurance space, particularly through M&A activity.  Some members have expressed concern that PE firms are less risk-averse than traditional insurance companies.
Read More NAIC Examines Investment Holdings of Private-Equity Owned Insurers

Locke Lord has been named 2022 Legal Services Provider of the Year by Inside P&C. Inside P&C celebrates achievements and exceptional talent from the U.S. wholesale, specialty and reinsurance markets.
Read More Locke Lord Named Inside P&C 2022 Legal Services Provider of the Year

Issues to Watch

1. Causation—What is an insured’s burden when the claimed loss involves a mix of covered and non-covered causes? Overstreet v. Allstate Vehicle & Prop. Ins. Co., No. 21-10462, 2022 WL 1579278 (5th Cir. May 19, 2022). This case involves a claim to replace a leaky roof. The insured claimed that the roof leaks were caused by a hailstorm, but the insurer determined that the leaks were due to uncovered causes, including wear and tear along with damage from prior hailstorms.

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Read More May 2022 Property Insurance Law Updates

Michael Humphreys, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s Chief of Staff, has been named the acting Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner following the departure of Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman on February 25th.  Mr. Humphreys was previously the Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.  He has also held various positions within the insurance industry.

https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/insurance-commissioner-jessica-altman-to-depart-wolf-administration/…
Read More Pennsylvania Governor Names Acting Insurance Commissioner

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC”) Macroprudential Working Group (“MWG”) is reviewing the influence that private equity firms have over the insurance industry. The MWG has recently  approved a list of “regulatory considerations” that the MWG will be reviewing and considering.  The list can be found here, and the MWG’s comments can be found here.
Read More NAIC Assessing Private Equity Involvement in Insurance Industry

In 1990, the Second Circuit in Bellefonte Reinsurance Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 903 F.2d ‎‎910 (2d Cir. 1990), affirmed a District Court judgment that reinsurers were not obligated to pay ‎additional sums for defense costs over and above the limits of liability specified in a facultative ‎reinsurance certificate. Since then, the Bellefonte rule acted as a de facto cap for both indemnity and ‎expense under a facultative certificate. This issue of ‘limits’ had been hotly contested, and Bellefonte ‎seemed to put it to rest. ‎…
Read More Locke Lord QuickStudy: What Goes Around Comes Around