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US FOCUS

Concussions in Professional and Amateur Athletics: Potential Liability for Traumatic Brain Injuries Suffered During Sporting Events >>

Iran Economic Sanctions Update  >>

Recent Developments in Coverage for Construction Defect Claims >>

Long Term Care Insurance: Policy Provisions in Dispute >>

UK FOCUS

"The ALEXANDROS T": A Jurisdictional Battle on the High Seas >>

Follow Remains Contentious as History is Revisited >>

Commercial Court Considers Brokers' Duties, Limitation and Recoverability of Funds and Investment Return >>

HONG KONG FOCUS

Insurers Are Not Presumed To Have Knowledge of Matters Merely Because They Are Available In The Media >>

INDUSTRY PRESENCE

Accolades >>

Upcoming Presentations >>

What's New in Solvency II >>

Recent Presentations >>

Conference Attendance >>

Articles & Quotes >>

Sponsorships >>

Insurance Federation of
New York >>

Insurance Committee of
the International Bar
Association (IBA) >>

James Crabtree Joins Edwards Wildman >>

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Bad Faith Survey

 

Getting the Deal Through

 

 

Industry Presence

Accolades

  • We are pleased to announce that Rob DiUbaldo (New York) was elevated to Partner on January 1, 2014. Congratulations Rob!

  • David Kendall (London) was re-elected Chairman of BILA (the British Insurance Law Association) on October 18, 2013.

  • Rob DiUbaldo and Brian Green (both New York) were selected by Reactions Magazine for its annual list profiling the top forty "Rising Stars" in the insurance and reinsurance industry worldwide. Rob was also selected by Thomson Reuters’ New York Super Lawyers publication as a "Rising Star" in the areas of Insurance Coverage, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Civil Litigation.

  • Hong Kong Insurance Practice Recommended by Asia Pacific Legal 500 - Edwards Wildman’s Hong Kong insurance practice has been recognized as a recommended firm in the latest 2014 edition of the Asia Pacific Legal 500. The practice, which is led by Martin Lister, is described in the commentary by clients as "outstanding," and Martin is praised as "one of the top legal experts on pension and non-contentious insurance; he knows the law inside out and has good connections with the regulators."

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Upcoming Presentations

  • Laurie Kamaiko (New York), Ted Augustinos (Hartford) and Mark Deem (Litigation Department, London) will be holding a breakfast briefing on cyber risks at IRLA (Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association) on February 26, 2014. Later that day, they will also be presenting an update on cyber risks at the IUA (International Underwriting Association of London). While in London, they will be attending Advisen’s London Cyber Risk Conference on February 25, along with Sarah Pearce (Intellectual Property Department, London). Edwards Wildman is a sponsor of the Advisen conference.

  • On March 11, 2014, Nick Pearson (New York), and Jonathan Young (Insolvency & Restructuring Department, Chicago), will be participating on a panel, "The Intricate World of Exit Strategy: Unleashing the Value in a Captive," at the Captive Insurance Companies International Conference in Scottsdale Arizona. The discussion will focus on strategies to enable captive owners to free up capital and management resources by eliminating ongoing fees, fixing liabilities and ending future exposure, including special challenges raised when the captive's owners are financially distressed, insolvent or subject to bankruptcy proceedings.

  • Edwards Wildman’s New York office is hosting the IRU (Intermediaries and Reinsurance Underwriters Association) Reinsurance Underwriting and Claims Audits seminar on March 12-13, 2014. During the seminar, Jeanne Kohler and Rob DiUbaldo (both New York), will be presenting on legal issues related to claims and underwriting audits.

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What's New in Solvency II

The European Tripartite Authorities have now agreed on the final text of the Omnibus II Directive; and we're expecting the European Parliament to make that Directive within weeks. There's no current reason to suppose that the Tripartite version of this Directive will be materially changed or delayed. So we now know, for the first time:

  • What the final Solvency II Directive will look like;
  • When and how the rest of the Solvency II regime will be made;
  • Which transitional provisions will be available to which firms, and on what conditions; and
  • What the consequences of US and Canadian
    non-equivalence are likely to be.
Some of these things are surprising; and they will all have consequences for US insurers and reinsurers with European holding companies, European subsidiaries and branches, and European reinsureds.

We have a number of industry wide presentations planned this year and will be producing a webinar in February which will discuss:

  • What the current state of the law is;
  • Which laws have been made, which have not, and when the “missing” laws will be published and made;
  • What the immediate consequences of US and Canadian non-equivalence are, and what the secondary consequences might be;
  • What US firms can do now to prepare, and what they should do now to prepare (these things are likely to be different); and
  • Why many UK and European insurers think they can't afford to wait very long before they start working on Solvency II once again.
Our UK and US Solvency II Team partners, Chris Finney (London) and Barry Leigh Weissman (Los Angeles) will be presenting in-house workshops to numerous companies who have requested meetings in New York, Hartford and Stamford the week of January 27, 2014. If you wish to contact our team for more information, please feel free to email: cfinney@edwardswildman.com and
bweissman@edwardswildman.com.

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Recent Presentations

  • A.J. Kritzman (Hartford) spoke at the Mergers & Acquisition Services Turning Point Florida Seminar on January 24, 2014 at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on "Navigating the Legal Waters of Mergers & Acquisitions" with regard to the purchase or sale of insurance agencies and brokerages.

  • Edwards Wildman hosted a CLE program, "Anti-Corruption and OFAC Compliance for the Insurance Industry," in its New York City offices on December 18, 2013. Approximately 50 in-house attorneys and compliance personnel registered for the program. Panelists included Jeff Etherington (New York), John Fusco (Business Law Department, Stamford), Steve Huggard (Litigation Department, Boston), Carlos Ortiz (Litigation Department, Morristown), and James Maton (Litigation Department, London). Jeff moderated the panel. John spoke about the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the impact of sanctions upon insurers and reinsurers. Steve and Carlos then reviewed the impact of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) upon the insurance industry. James concluded the program with a review of the UK Bribery Act of 2013.

  • Chris Finney (London) was a panel member discussing Prudential Regulation Authority Consultation Papers at the Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association (IRLA) Members Breakfast Briefing on December 5, 2013.

  • On December 4, 2013, Patrick Frye (Chicago) presented at a seminar entitled “Recent ERISA Fiduciary Litigation against Insurers” to the Chicago Bar Association’s Insurance Law section.

  • Laurie Kamaiko (New York) was a member of the panel on “Cyber Crime: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business” held by the Leading Women of Southern New England on November 14, 2013 in Providence, Rhode Island.

  • On November 13, 2013, Edwards Wildman hosted the "Insurance M&A and Capital Raising Roundtable" in its New York offices. The roundtable was jointly sponsored by Edwards Wildman, BDO USA, LLP and Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. Over 100 representatives of insurers, reinsurers, brokers, investment bankers and service providers registered for the event. Jeff Etherington participated in the roundtable, discussing key legal issues relating to insurance M&A and capital raising, such as regulatory scrutiny of the use of affiliated captives by life insurers, special considerations for investors in the insurance industry and recent criticism of private equity investments in life insurers. Other panelist were John Green of BDO and John Butler of Sandler O'Neill.

  • On October 30, Edwards Wildman held its 2013 ILS Roundtable in its New York offices. The program included “The Acceleration of the Convergence of Capital Markets and Insurance,” presented by Aileen Meehan (New York) and Albert Pinzon (Business Law Department, New York), and Albert Selius, who manages Pine River Capital Management’s insurance-linked securities portfolio, and “Bringing ILS Products to Market: An Overview of Tax, Regulatory and Legal Considerations” presented by Jeff Etherington, Christopher Flanagan (Tax & Benefits Department, Boston), Michelle Raftery (Business Law Department, Boston) and Barry Leigh Weissman (Los Angeles).

  • On October 22, 2013, Chris Finney spoke at the IRLA Academy on "Unlocking Value in Run-Off -- Practical Considerations."

  • Laurie Kamaiko and Mark Schreiber (Litigation Department, Boston), were Co-Chairs of the Net Diligence, Cyber Risk & Privacy Liability Forum held on October 9-11, 2013 in Marina del Rey, California. Mark also moderated a panel on “State of Litigation: Data Breach Litigation Update,” and Alan Friel (Intellectual Property Department, Los Angeles), moderated a panel on “Technology to Mitigate Risk: The Latest from Security Experts.” Also attending the conference were: Ted Augustinos (Hartford), Ronie Schmelz (Los Angeles), David Anderson (Intellectual Property Department, Los Angeles), and Erin Pfaff (Litigation Department, Los Angeles).

  • Jeanne Kohler and Rob DiUbaldo (both New York) were on the faculty at the Reinsurance Association of America’s Re Claims: Reinsurance Claims and Loss Management Conference on October 9-10, 2013, in New York. They were group facilitators as well as co-presenters on the topic “Reinsurance Contract Issues Related to Superstorm Sandy.” Patrick Frye (Chicago) also attended the conference.

  • On October 4, 2013, Huhnsik Chung (New York) spoke at the IUA Catastrophe Risk Management Conference with Francis Mackie (London) on “Hydrofracking Update: Legal and Technical Issues Arising from Recent Developments.”

  • On October 2, 2013, Lori Basilico and Ben Ferrucci (Tax & Benefits Department, Providence and Boston), John Houlihan (Litigation Department, Boston), and Patrick Frye (Chicago), presented a seminar in our New York office focusing on the involvement of insurers or their affiliates with ERISA-governed benefits plans. Lori and Ben discussed “Your First Introduction to ERISA; Why You Should Remember the Name,” while John and Patrick discussed “Recent ERISA Fiduciary Litigation.”

  • Ted Augustinos (Hartford) presented a program entitled “Healthcare Breach Triage” at the Privacy Academy of the International Association of Privacy Professionals held September 28 through October 2, 2013, in Seattle.

  • On September 10, 2013, Ted Augustinos, Laurie Kamaiko and Mark Deem (Litigation Department, London), presented on “Data Breach Response and Insurance Coverage Issues” at a program in London at the Lloyd’s Old Library hosted by Paragon International Insurance Brokers Ltd. in collaboration with Edwards Wildman.

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Conference Attendance

  • Mark Everiss (London) will be attending the IACP (International Association of Claims Professionals) London Conference on April 30, 2014.

  • Damian Connolly, Chris Finney and Jon Yorke (all London), attended the PwC Solutions for Discontinued Insurance Business client reception on January 23, 2014.

  • Chris Finney attended the BILA lecture Directors' Duties in Regulated Firms on January 17, 2014.

  • On January 16, 2014, Mark Everiss led an IRD team into competition at the IRLA Annual Members Quiz Night.

  • David Kendall and Chris Finney (both London) and Albert Pinzon (Business Law Department, New York) spoke on Insurance Linked Securities at a Client Breakfast Seminar hosted by our London office on January 15, 2014.

  • As part of a long-standing tradition, attorneys from Edwards Wildman attended the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) meeting in Washington D.C. on December 14, 2013.  Attendees were Barry Leigh Weissman (Los Angeles) and Jack Dearie, Nick Pearson and John Emmanuel (all New York).  During the meeting, we not only met with many of our clients and regulatory personnel who were in attendance, but we were also privileged to have Richard Schlesinger, Chief of Reinsurance and Surplus Lines at the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, make a presentation to our clients at our Washington office.  We also blogged in real time some of the meetings we attended. The blogs can be found here:
    http://www.insurereinsure.com/blog.aspx?entry-5178
    http://www.insurereinsure.com/blog.aspx?entry-5175
    http://www.insurereinsure.com/blog.aspx?entry-5174
    http://www.insurereinsure.com/blog.aspx?entry-5172

  • David Kendall was a witness in BILA’s Bermuda Form Mock Arbitration held in Lincoln’s Inn (London) on November 19, 2013.

  • Alex Henlin (Boston) attended the PLRB (Property Loss Research Bureau) Large Loss Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 18-20, 2013.

  • Paul Kanefsky (New York), Tom Bush (Chicago) and Ronie Schmelz (Los Angeles), attended the ARIAS (AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society) Fall Meeting in New York on November 13-14, 2013.

  • Chuck Welsh (Hartford) attended the 7th Annual Insurance Brokerage Summit in Boston on November 4-5, 2013 with Mike Griffin (Hartford).

  • Alan Levin and Chuck Welsh (both Hartford) and Patrick Gennardo (New York) attended the ACLI (American Council of Life Insurers) Annual Conference in New Orleans on October 27-29, 2013.

  • Ted Augustinos (Hartford), Laurie Kamaiko, Brian Green (both New York), Karen Booth (Hartford) and Ari Moskowitz (Business Law Department, Washington DC) attended the Advisen CyberRisk conference in New York on October 24, 2013. Edwards Wildman was a sponsor, and Laurie was a member of the Panel on “BYOE (Beware of Your Own Employee: The Shifting Risk Landscape of BYOD and Social Media).”

  • Chris Finney attended the City of London Solicitors’ Company networking event of the Tour of the Old Bailey on October 2, 2013; the Third Annual Financial Litigation, Dispute, and Enforcement Seminar in London on October 9; and the A.M. Best 2013 Insurance Market Briefing on October 17.

  • Laurie Kamaiko was the moderator of a Panel on “The Cloud: Evaluating and Negotiating Coverage for Cyber and Traditional Risk Arising from Cloud Computing” on September 30, 2013, at ACI’s Cyber & Data Risk Insurance Conference held in New York.

  • Ted Augustinos attended the Annual Conference of the American Bankers Insurance Association on September 16-18, 2013 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

  • Damian Connolly and Chris Finney attended the Rendezvous de Septembre on September 7-12, 2013.

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Articles & Quotes

January 2014

December 2013

November 2013

October 2013

September 2013

  • Josh Broudy (Hartford) co-authored "Pennsylvania Appellate Court Establishes a New Approach to an Insurer's Offer of a Defense under a Reservation of Rights," published in Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes, September 26, 2013.

  • Chris Finney authored "Soft-Target," concerning the Prudential Regulation Authority's Solvency II Early Warning Indicators, published in Insider Quarterly, Autumn, 2013.

  • Huhnsik Chung was quoted in "Fracking Claims Set Stage for Fresh Pollution-Exclusion War," Law360, September 13, 2013.

  • Rob DiUbaldo authored "What To Expect From NY's Landmark Decision In Diocese," published in Law360, September 5, 2013.

  • David Kendall authored "World Trade Center: One Event or Two," published in Reinsurance, September, 2013.

August 2013

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Sponsorships

  • Edwards Wildman is sponsoring the IRLA Congress in Brighton, UK, on May 8-9, 2014. Mark Everiss (London) will be chairing a historic legacy/ EL panel and Chris Finney (London) will be speaking on a regulatory panel. There will also be an Edwards Wildman speaker addressing the conference on a climate change panel. Jonathan Yorke and Damian Connolly (both London) will also be attending.

  • Edwards Wildman hosted a table in London at the December 5, 2013, Insurance Day Awards. Dinner was hosted by Francis Mackie, Sarah Pearce, Sam Tacey, Damian Connolly (all London), and Darlene Alt (Chicago).

  • Mark Everiss, David Kendall, Damian Connolly, Jonathan Yorke and Sam Tacey hosted a table at the IRLA Annual Members’ Dinner on November 14, 2013 in London.

  • Nick Pearson (New York) moderated a panel on October 15, 2013 at the AIRROC Commutation Conference in New Jersey, on insurance regulatory issues. The panelists were Martha Lees, Senior Policy Advisor at the New York Department of Financial Services, Denise Brignac, Chief Deputy Commissioner of the Louisiana Insurance Department, Peter Maloney, Chief Legal Officer of QBE North America and Matt Wulf, Vice President of State Relations and Assistant General Counsel of the Reinsurance Association of America. During the conference, Jeanne Kohler (New York) hosted the Women’s Luncheon on behalf of the IRD. Attending the conference were Nick, Paul Kanefsky (New York) and Jonathan Yorke.

  • On September 25, 2013, Edwards Wildman was one of the sponsors of the 5th Annual Reactions North America Conference 2013. Laurie Kamaiko (New York) moderated a panel discussion on Cyber Risks.

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Insurance Federation of New York



Pictured from left to right: Nick Pearson, IFNY President, Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Ace Limited and Hank Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr

On November 15, 2013 Nick Pearson (New York), in his role as President of the Insurance Federation of New York (IFNY), provided remarks and presided over IFNY’s 99th Annual Luncheon at which Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Ace Limited, was presented with the Free Enterprise Award. This award is given annually by IFNY to a business leader whose creativity and initiative exemplify free enterprise. Assisting in the presentation of the award was Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the honoree’s father. Hank Greenberg himself was the recipient of the Free Enterprise Award in 1979 when he was the CEO and President of AIG. He is now the Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr. Benjamin Lawsky, New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent, and Senator Ben Nelson, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, were guest speakers at the event. In addition, the 2013 IFNY Summer Interns - participants in a program for disadvantaged, highly motivated high school students, which was started under Nick’s leadership in 2012 - appeared on the podium to say how important the program was to their futures. The lunch was attended by more than 300 of the insurance industry's most prominent leaders and was held at Cipriani in the historic Merchants’ Exchange Building on Wall Street.

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Insurance Committee of the
International Bar Association (IBA)


In September 2013, Alan Levin (Hartford), Barry Leigh Weissman, and Laura Bange (both Boston), co-authored two chapters of an international survey on "The Legal Nature of Insurance Contracts" as part of the IBA's Insurance Committee 2013 Substantive Project. The results of the project were presented during a working session at the IBA's Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts in October 2013. Alan Levin (Hartford) and Laura Bange (Boston) attended the six-day Annual Conference, during which they participated in a number of meetings and seminars with fellow members of the Insurance Committee. In December 2013, Laura Bange published an article in the IBA's North American Regional Forum Newsletter, Vol. 4 No. 3, entitled “Massachusetts High Court Narrows Scope of Title Insurer’s Duty to Defend.” The article analyzes Deutsche Bank National Association v. First American Title Insurance Company, No SJC-11265 (Mass, 11 July 2013), a recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concerning the scope of the duty to defend owed by title insurers and general liability insurers.

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James Crabtree Joins Edwards Wildman

Edwards Wildman is pleased to announce that James Crabtree has joined the London office as a partner in its Insurance & Reinsurance Department. James joins from Taylor Wessing, where he was the head of the International Insurance Group. He advises on insurance and reinsurance claims and coverage disputes, often with an international element, in arbitration and litigation.

James’ practice focuses on disputes concerning asbestos, environmental pollution and health hazard losses, D&O, E&O and financial institutions claims, bankers' professional indemnity claims, property damage and business interruption claims. James has also advised on disputes in respect of political risks, global insurance programs and captive cover. He also advises on the management of insurance/reinsurance portfolios in run-off and on disputes arising therefrom. James also advises on the terms and conditions of insurance and reinsurance contracts and on commutations of reinsurance exposure.

“James is an excellent addition to our practice. He brings a good client following and has strong experience in a number of areas, including many specific areas where the firm has considerable strength including international claims, run-off portfolios and arbitration,” said David Kendall, co-chair of Edwards Wildman’s Insurance & Reinsurance Department. He is highly regarded in the market place and recognized by leading directories for his insurance & reinsurance work including the UK Legal 500, UK Chambers, Who’s Who Legal and Euromoney’s Who’s Who of Insurance Lawyers.

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Contacts

For further details on any of the above, email:

InsuranceInquiries@edwardswildman.com

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