A significant number of states prohibit or restrict the arbitration of disputes between an insurer and its policyholder and/or preclude the inclusion of arbitral provisions in insurance policies.The McCarran-Ferguson Act...more
Another Circuit Court Holds That the New York Convention Pre-empts State Laws Prohibiting Arbitration of Insurance Disputes - On August 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Article II, Section...more
Developments in Vermont Federal Issues State Issues Continued Impact of COVID-19 - The measures taken by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (the “DFR”) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been...more
Health insurance companies are now no longer immune from antitrust scrutiny for activities previously found to be “the business of insurance.” Last week, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (CHIRA) was enacted,...more
The District Court of Puerto Rico upheld a prior judgment ordering Integrand Assurance Co. to arbitrate its claims against its various reinsurers, rather than remand the case to the court overseeing Integrand’s receivership,...more
In the wake of the liquidation of Legion Indemnity Co., the Illinois Director of Insurance, as liquidator of Legion, and Catalina Holdings arbitrated claims originating under reinsurance agreements between Legion and a...more
The receiver for Gramercy Insurance Company sought to avoid arbitration of a reinsurance dispute with Contractor’s Bonding, Ltd., by arguing the FAA was reverse preempted under the McCarran-Ferguson Act....more
In a case involving a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA), a California trial court has examined the interplay between two seemingly irreconcilable contract provisions: one that provided for the arbitration of any...more
A Cornhusker by birth, I’ve always had a special affinity for Nebraska, and particularly Omaha, where I was raised. My only regret is that I was neither old nor rich enough to participate in Mr.Buffet’s original partnership....more
In Ludwick v. Harbinger Group, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal under the McCarran-Ferguson Act of a federal RICO claim against Fidelity & Guaranty (and its owner and several affiliates)...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
In a putative class action seeking damages for alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) arising from certain reinsurance transactions, the United States District Court for the...more
Echoing New York’s regulatory criticism concerning the use of captive reinsurers and similar allegations in recent class actions filed against several New York life insurers, an annuity contract owner has filed a putative...more