Second Circuit Holds That Policy May Be Rescinded Before a Claim is Submitted for Coverage

The Second Circuit has held that an insurer need not wait until a claim is submitted under its policy in order to seek rescission of the policy based on a material misrepresentation by the insured. U.S. Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Orion Plumbing & Heating Corp., 18-2286-CV, 2019 WL 1253325.

The dispute arose under a policy issued in May 2012, which was later cancelled as a result of the insured’s failure to pay premiums. However, an incident involving bodily injury occurred prior to the policy’s …

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The Current Status of Brexit: Ramifications for the Global Insurance Industry

What is Brexit and What are its Legal Ramifications for the UK?

The 28 nation “single market” received a stunning blow when the UK voted, in a referendum on June 23, 2016, to terminate its membership and, subsequently, its passport-free, duty-free, trade and other advantages.

From a legal perspective, under the January 2017 Miller decision by UK’s Supreme Court, Parliament has the right to thwart Brexit by the court’s affirmation that the Brexit referendum is not legally binding until Parliament ratifies the outcome of the …

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Is the Joint Decision to Withdraw Met Life’s SIFI Designation a Hobson’s Choice?

With the consent of the Trump Administration, on Thursday, January 18, 2018, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a Federal government organization established by Title I of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act during the Obama administration, and MetLife jointly filed a motion with in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. FSOC empowers the government to designate non-banks as SIFI’s, which subjects them to heightened supervisory requirements by the Federal Reserve.

The motion effectively ends a nearly two-year

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ACI Brexit Panel Preview: Four Key Issues for International Insurers

On March 8, 2018, at the 14th ACI National Forum on Insurance Regulation in New York City, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on Brexit and its implications for the global insurance community. With Brexit’s implementation over a year away and many details left to be decided, insurance professionals and their legal counsel have been left with little more than speculation on the unprecedented event’s effects on their industry. Some central issues and concerns, however, are crystalizing. The following are a few of the …

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Changes to New York State Insurance Law Affect Auto Policies, Neonatal Intensive Care Coverage, and Exposures for Mortgage Guaranty Insurers

Frederick J. Pomerantz, a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services and Insurance Regulatory Practice Groups, has authored three alerts on changes to New York State insurance regulations in the November 2017 edition of the Federation of Regulatory Counsel (FORC) Alerts. In the alerts, Fred details notable recent changes pertaining to private passenger auto policies, neonatal intensive care services, and exposures for mortgage guaranty insurers.

Analysis of Non-Renewals of Private Passenger Auto Policies

Effective October 23, 2017, Section 1, Paragraph 2 of Subsection (l) …

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Texas Extends Emergency Adjuster Licensing Eligibility Period from 90 to 180 Days due to Extensive Claims Resulting from Harvey

Texas Insurance Code §§4101.002(b) and 4101.101 authorize carriers to immediately use nonresident and emergency adjusters to handle claims. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017. As the Code authorizes — and with the relocation of hurricane victims and other personal hardships sustained by residents of counties covered in the governor’s disaster proclamations due to the effects of Harvey — the Texas Insurance Commissioner has just signed Order # 2017 dated November 16, 2017. This order extends for an additional 90-day period the …

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DFS Partially Clarifies Who Qualifies for an Exemption Under Cybersecurity Regulation

By the terms of 23 NYCRR 500.19(e), Covered Entities that have determined they qualify for a limited exemption from compliance under 23 NYCRR 500.19(a)-(d) of New York’s new Cybersecurity Regulation — as of August 28, 2017 — are required to file a Notice of Exemption with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on or prior to September 28, 2017.

The first compliance date of August 28, 2017 in New York’s cybersecurity regulation, and the date for Covered Entities to determine whether they qualify …

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Congress Rolls Back FCC Privacy Regulations

On March 28, 2017, Congress passed legislation (S.J. Res. 34) that rolled back privacy regulations recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission. The resolution passed the Senate by a vote of 50-48 and the House by a voted of 215 to 205. This is one of several sets of regulations Congress is rolling back under the authority of the Congressional Review Act of 1996. Under this statute, Congress can nullify administrative regulations by simply passing a joint resolution of disapproval.

On December 2, 2016, the …

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The NAIC Appeals to the Secretary of the Treasury Over the Covered Agreement

While the U.S. and EU governments are deliberating on whether to accept the negotiated Covered Agreement (Agreement), state insurance regulators in the U.S. are continuing to express concerns about the Agreement. In February 2017, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) testified before Congress against the Agreement. On March 15, 2017, the NAIC continued these efforts by submitting a letter to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin detailing the NAIC’s concerns. One of the NAIC’s central concerns centers on the “significant confusion among current and …

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ELANY Publishes Practical Tips on Applying New York’s New Cybersecurity Regulation to “Unique Situations”

There has been a lot of commentary on New York’s new regulation entitled Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies (23 NYCRR 500) (the Regulation) which went into effect on March 1, 2017. On March 16, 2017, The Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY) released Bulletin 2017-12 which contains some practical guidance for insurance producers that will face some “unique situations” not addressed in the other commentary.

Specifically, the bulletin refers to insurance producers that “may not meet the technical definition of a ‘Third Party …

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