February 2013 - Page 2 of 2 - The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

February 8, 2013 Environmental

Asbestos – England/Wales Court of Appeal Clarifies Employer’s Liability Insurer’s Obligations to Solvent Insured

International Energy Group Ltd v. Zurich Insurance Plc UK Branch [2013] EWCA Civ 39

Background Facts

IEG employed Mr. Carré for 27 years. During his employment, Mr. Carré was exposed to asbestos without adequate protection being provided. As a result, Mr. Carré contracted mesothelioma and died in 2008.

Zurich covered IEG for only six years out of the 27 years Mr. Carré was employed. The cover was in respect of any employee who “sustain any bodily injury […] caused during any period of insurance and …

February 7, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Proposed Rule Allows Religious Organizations to Sidestep Contraception Mandate

On Friday, President Barack Obama’s administration proposed a rule which would modify the Affordable Care Act’s Contraception Mandate to allow religious organizations to opt-out of directly providing contraceptives to its employees. The contraception mandate, which went into effect January 1, 2013, requires most private companies and employers to offer health services, including contraception services to their workers. The contraception rule had prompted many lawsuits whereby religious organizations brought suit against the federal government seeking injunctions and temporary restraining orders in anticipation of the inception …

February 6, 2013 Life, Health, Disability & ERISA

Life Insurers Who Waited For Beneficiaries to Speak Up Are Now Forced to Pay Out

Several thousand New Yorkers are receiving unexpected checks in the mail due to an investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) into life insurance claims practices. According to a DFS press release, regulators started investigating these practices in July 2011. Regulators found that insurers did not pay out life insurance benefits unless the beneficiary made a claim on the policy. The problem is this practice only works if the beneficiary actually knows that he, she, (or it) is a beneficiary. …

February 5, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Food Recall Sufficient to Constitute Property Damage Despite no Actual Contamination

The Netherlands Ins. Co v. Main St. Ingredients et al. (Index No. 11-533)
In testing the limits of coverage for recall of food products, the federal district court of Minnesota found in favor of an insured for claims related to “property damage” despite the uncontroverted fact that the recalled product was not contaminated.

In The Netherlands Ins. Co v. Main St. Ingredients et al. (Index No. 11-533), insured purchased instant milk from a third-party and subsequently sold it to another third-party who subsequently mixed it …

February 4, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

England’s Court of Appeal Clarifies Questions Concerning Apportionment of Losses in Professional Indemnity Policy

Standard Life Assurance Ltd v ACE European Group [2012] EWCA Civ 1713

This case concerns whether the insured was entitled to recover, without apportionment, the full amount of its first party claim (as opposed to a third party claim), which it paid under a “mitigation costs” clause in a professional liability policy covering the insured against third party claims arising out of the provision of financial services.

The insured, Standard Life Assurance Ltd (SLAL), launched a fund in 1996 which was described as being equivalent …