Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
California lapse notice litigation has garnered publicity ever since the California Supreme Court in McHugh v. Protective Life Insurance Co. held that the new insurance statutes requiring a 60-day grace period and 30-day...more
In our May 2021 issue, we discussed the rise in life insurance policy lapse notice cases in California following the state’s 2013 enactment of California Insurance Code sections 10113.71 and 10113.72. These statutes establish...more
On April 13, 2021, we reported on a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama that dismissed a portion of a complaint brought by cedent Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp. (AMIC) for bad faith...more
Rhode Island has amended its laws related to voluntary restructuring of insurers and protected cell companies to allow for domestic insurance companies to enter into a voluntary restructuring, including the use of a protected...more
In a proceeding seeking an order for disclosure of documents from Barclays Bank, the English High Court of Justice considered the scope of the agency involved in a run-off agreement between a reinsurance broker and another...more
On September 8, 2017, Congress passed legislation extending the National Flood Insurance Program until December 8, 2017. The program was set to expire at the end of September. ...more
On June 15 and 22, 2017, respectively, the Governors of Texas and Wisconsin approved new laws permitting domestic surplus lines insurers in those states (i.e., insurers domiciled in Texas and Wisconsin) to conduct business...more
On May 4, 2017 Montana enacted a new law that will remove the requirement that reciprocal captive insurers have 25 or more persons domiciled in Montana. The law also permits captive insurers to go into dormancy. The...more
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales approved the judgment of the trial court in a reinsurance dispute between Axa and Arab Insurance Group (Arig) related to certain insured energy construction risks. The trial court had...more
The case is pending in a federal district court in New York, and involves three allegedly interconnected contracts purportedly “designed to circumvent [state] insurance laws,” including the laws of New York. ...more
On March 6, 2017, the Governor of South Dakota signed into law House Bill 1045 conforming South Dakota law to the current version of the Credit for Reinsurance NAIC Model Law (Model 785). ...more
The Connecticut Insurance Department has issued two bulletins addressing 2016 and 2017 financial reporting requirements for foreign eligible surplus lines insurers and accredited reinsurers. Regarding surplus lines insurers,...more
On July 21, 2016, we reported on a putative class action filed in a California U.S. district court by Shasta Linen Company against Applied Underwriters, Inc. and its affiliate entities, alleging that the “EquityComp” workers’...more
Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company appealed from the denial of its motion to compel arbitration in a dispute related to a reinsurance participation contract with South Jersey Sanitation Company. The trial...more
11/29/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Reinsurance
- AXA Prevails at First Post-Jones v. Harris Excessive Fee Trial
- Potential Secondary Effects of Regulatory Examinations: Evidentiary Issues and Preclusion in Parallel Litigation
- On The Horizon: Global...more
10/31/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Annuities ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
FSB ,
Gartenberg Factors ,
Healthcare ,
Industry Examinations ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Companies ,
Life Insurance ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NYDFS ,
Passporting ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retirement Plan ,
RICO ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solvency II ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unicorns
Increasingly aggressive and adversarial examinations by state regulators can expose insurers to troubling evidentiary issues in subsequent individual and class action litigation. Plaintiffs’ counsel may seek to admit into...more
In a suit by an auto body company against a captive insurance company for rescission of certain workers compensation reinsurance participation agreements, for disgorgement of $70,000 paid thereunder, and for fraud, breach of...more
10/18/2016
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Auto Body Shop ,
Breach of Contract ,
Captive Insurance Company ,
Disgorgement ,
Fraud ,
Insurance Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Participation Agreements ,
Reinsurance ,
Rescission ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
Excalibur had been in run-off status since 2003, and under regulatory supervision since at least 2013. A Pennsylvania court has now placed Excalibur into liquidation based on three grounds: (1) insolvency – Excalibur’s...more
In the ongoing reinsurance dispute between cedent Utica Mutual Insurance Company and reinsurer Clearwater Insurance Company, about which we most recently posted on February 9, 2016, two developments occurred on July 14, 2016....more
On May 11, 2016 we reported on a dispute between certain captive insurance administrative service providers (Capstone) against various defendants concerning the rights to certain intellectual property related to a captive...more
We previously reported on the confirmation of three awards in a dispute between National Indemnity Company (“NICO”) and IRB Brasil Ressegurous S.A (“IRB”). In April, NICO submitted a motion for an award of its fees and costs...more
As we previously reported in March 2016, the United States initiated discussions with the European Union to enter into a Covered Agreement addressing: (1) the equivalence of the U.S. insurance and reinsurance regulatory...more