InsuranceRSS

  • May 4, 2010

    MBIA Barred From Municipal Bond MDL Exit

    A federal judge has denied reconsideration of an earlier decision not to dismiss bond insurer MBIA Inc. from multidistrict litigation over the role of dozens of financial services giants in alleged price-fixing of municipal bonds.

  • May 3, 2010

    $34M Fraud Verdict Against AIG Stands

    A district court has reaffirmed a remanded $34 million verdict against American International Group Inc. in a suit brought by rival insurance giant AXA Versicherung AG over alleged fraud involving reinsurance contracts.

  • May 3, 2010

    BP Oil Spill Sparks Chain Reaction Of Insurance Claims

    Cleaning up the thousands of barrels of oil leaked in the BP PLC-operated Deepwater Horizon rig blast may take years, and untangling the complex web of insurance claims and litigation stemming from the projected $3 billion in environmental and economic damage may take even longer, experts say.

  • May 3, 2010

    Legislators Seek To Sink Flood Insurance Mandate

    Three Arkansas Democrats — Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and Rep. Marion Berry — have introduced legislation to combat attempts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to mandate that homeowners and businesses purchase flood insurance.

  • May 3, 2010

    Appeals Court Flips Lloyd's Loss In Contribution Case

    An Oregon appeals court has reversed a loss for certain Lloyd's of London underwriters in a dispute among insurers over how to divvy up a bill covering an environmental claim, finding that Lloyd's should not be penalized because it chose not to settle with the insured.

  • May 3, 2010

    Insurer Not Liable For Fire Damages: 2nd Circ.

    While a federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a Continental Insurance Co. suit seeking to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in fire coverage from Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co., it has affirmed the district court's judgment in the case, holding that Atlantic’s policy with the roofer that caused the fire excludes coverage for the accident.

  • April 30, 2010

    Suit Over Authenticity Of Warhols Not Covered: Insurer

    A lawsuit alleging that the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. has conspired to drive up the price of the artist's work by denying the authenticity of purported Warhols does not merit coverage under the foundation's insurance policies, its insurer claims.

  • April 30, 2010

    Insurers' State Court Cert. Bid Nixed In Hyundai Ad Suit

    A federal appellate court has turned aside a bid by National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., and American Home Assurance Co. to certify to the California Supreme Court what they characterized as a "controlling question of California insurance law" with respect to coverage of an underlying patent infringement suit over an advertising method.

  • April 30, 2010

    Anthem Withdraws Rate Hike After Errors Found

    Legislators and federal officials applauded Anthem Blue Cross on Friday as it backed away from a controversial plan to hike premium rates for some in California by as much as 39 percent after errors were found in the insurer's state filing.

  • April 30, 2010

    Lead Plaintiff Appeals Toss Of AIG Derivative Suit

    A Louisiana municipal retirement fund has appealed a New York federal judge's rejection of its shareholder derivative suit accusing American International Group Inc. of waste and breach of fiduciary duty over the global insurer's disastrous exposure to mortgage-related liabilities.

  • April 30, 2010

    Law Firms Prepare For Wave Of Health Care Work

    For better or worse, health care reform legislation is now the law of the land, and as companies scramble to comprehend the new rules, law firms are racing to get ahead of the curve and make the transition a smooth one for clients.

  • April 29, 2010

    Court Accepts Travelers' Business Loss Calculation

    A federal judge has sided with Travelers Indemnity Co. of Connecticut in a dispute over the methodology to use to calculate loss of business income under an insurance policy that does not specify a formula for the calculation.

  • April 29, 2010

    Perkins Coie Adds 6 Howrey Insurance Attys

    In a move that has effectively doubled the size of its full-time insurance practice, Perkins Coie LLP has added six insurance attorneys from Howrey LLP, including three partners, for its offices in Los Angeles and Washington.

  • April 29, 2010

    Allstate Challenges Wyeth Win In Ativan Coverage Suit

    Allstate Insurance Co. is contesting a district court’s ruling that the insurer must pay defense costs for foreign product liability litigation over the anxiety drug Ativan brought against Pfizer Inc. unit Wyeth Inc. during the 1980s and 1990s.

  • April 28, 2010

    Ruling Mixed In Coverage Spat Over $50M Oil Spill

    A federal judge has handed down a mixed ruling in a dispute between Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing LLC and two of its insurers over coverage for an 89,000-gallon oil spill in Kansas that the company says it has spent $50 million cleaning up since 2007.

  • April 28, 2010

    Homeowners' Defense Act Clears US House Panel

    The House Financial Services Committee has passed legislation to create a massive federal reinsurance fund to back up losses from catastrophic natural disasters in an attempt to bring down premiums for homeowners.

  • April 28, 2010

    WellPoint Ends Rescission, Delays Rate Hikes

    Bowing to pressure from federal regulators, WellPoint Inc. has said it will end its practice of dropping sick patients from health plans and has again delayed plans to hike premiums on members of its California subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross.

  • April 28, 2010

    House Panel Advances Flood Insurance Reauthorization

    A U.S. House of Representatives panel has advanced legislation that would reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years, in an effort to put a stop to a number of short-term extensions that have plagued the federal program.

  • April 28, 2010

    Vigilant Off Hook For Novell Defense In Unix Fight

    A federal judge has ruled that Vigilant Insurance Co. is not obligated to pay Novell Inc.'s defense costs in a dispute with another technology company over the rights to the Unix operating system.

  • April 27, 2010

    Liberty Owes For Dated Asbestos Claims: Insurers

    Century Indemnity Co. and TIG Insurance Co. are demanding that Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. help pay for decades-old asbestos claims facing a Massachusetts pump manufacturer, lodging a complaint Tuesday saying Liberty has shirked its duties under policies that date back as far as 1936.