As the Atlantic hurricane season reaches its peak in September, bringing with it rainfall and flooding, a recent New Jersey court held a sewer overflow resulting from rainfall was not caused, directly or indirectly, by a...more
In construing policies that covered loss “caused by or resulting from water damage” but excluded coverage for loss caused by “dampness of atmosphere” or by “[e]xtremes or changes in temperature,” the United States Court of...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently granted summary judgment for an insurer on a pollution liability policy for lack of timely notice. The court agreed with the insurer that the...more
10/31/2023
/ Bodily Injury ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contamination ,
Defense Costs ,
Gas Stations ,
Groundwater ,
Pollution Control ,
Pollution Liability Insurance ,
Property Damage ,
Storage Tanks ,
Summary Judgment ,
Underground Storage Tanks
Any company, particularly if conducting business is a highly regulated industry, risks being served with a subpoena or a civil investigative demand (collectively, “CID”) from a governmental agency or entity. As set forth...more
8/22/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
CID ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Corporate Officers ,
D&O Insurance ,
Government Investigations ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Notification Requirements ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Subpoenas
If a resident in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility sustains an injury, the owner and operator of the facility will generally look to their errors and omissions or professional liability insurance policy for...more
Effective December 21, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) amended its regulation at 24 C.F.R. § 203.16a to allow FHA borrowers to purchase private flood insurance for properties located in Special Flood Hazard...more
1/5/2023
/ Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act ,
Compliance ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Farm Credit Administration ,
FDIC ,
Final Rules ,
Flood Insurance ,
HUD ,
Mortgages ,
National Flood Insurance Program ,
NCUA
On November 15, 2022, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear issued Executive Order 2022-798 authorizing the use of medical cannabis in the state because “Kentuckians throughout the Commonwealth suffer from a multitude of medical...more
A recent insurance coverage decision from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia highlights the difficulties of court interpretation of insurance policies and serves as a warning for contractors...more
The Lloyd’s Market Association (the “LMA”) recently released four model clauses to exclude coverage for “war” from cyber insurance policies. The exclusions align with the requirement that all insurance policies written at...more
For the first time in more than 20 years, FEMA has announced plans to make changes to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP). Under the proposal, FEMA would introduce a new Homeowner Flood Form, to be published at 44...more
Congress has reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through February 18, 2022. Prior to this most recent temporary reauthorization, the NFIP had been set to expire on December 3, 2021. Since 2017, there...more
As homeowners file insurance claims for property damage following Hurricane Ida and with Hurricane Larry threatening the northeast coast, mortgage servicers are facing an influx of insurance proceeds or loss draft funds. To...more
On April 1, 2021, FEMA released its highly anticipated flood insurance rating methodology, Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action.
FEMA first announced “Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action” in March 2019 as an effort to improve...more
The cyber insurance market size is currently valued in the billions, and this does not include insurance policies that do not explicitly mention cyber incidents but may nevertheless cover them. With this in mind,...more
3/8/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Insurance Industry ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Reinsurance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued a Cyber Insurance Risk Framework (the “Framework”) of best practices for carriers. The first of its kind, the Framework tells carriers to establish formal...more
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued a bulletin on climate change and financial risks to the financial institutions and insurance companies it supervises regarding the impact of climate change on...more
As everyone steps away from their (home) office to celebrate Thanksgiving, we wanted to count our blessings as we review this truly remarkable and unusual year. In addition to frontline healthcare workers, good WI-FI, food...more
11/30/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Chapter 13 ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Electronic Notarization Standard ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDCPA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Flood Insurance ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Foreclosure ,
HUD ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Libor ,
Moratorium ,
OCC ,
Popular
On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposed amendment to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations that would allow lenders to accept private flood insurance...more
It has been nine years since the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance (Flood Insurance Q&As)have seen any revisions. But that’s all about to change. Under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994...more
On the first day of National Preparedness Month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just reminded policyholders that while coverage exclusions are to be read narrowly, they must also be read comprehensively.
In Engineered Structures, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty...more
Michigan has joined the majority of jurisdictions in holding that a general liability policy may provide coverage for claims for property damage allegedly caused by the defective work of a subcontractor. In a unanimous...more
June 1 marked the start of hurricane season, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Atlantic hurricane season will be a busy one. NOAA predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season,...more
June 1 marked the start of hurricane season, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Atlantic hurricane season will be a busy one. NOAA predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season,...more
In a statement released on April 21, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that mortgage servicers would only be required to advance four months of missed payments for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned...more