Specialty Lines

Expert Analysis

• How Biden's Administration Will Affect The Insurance Industry

  

  President Joe Biden's administration has signaled interest in a range of key issues — consumer protections, regulation of the cannabis industry and health care reform — that will have outsize influence on the private insurance market, say Adrian Azer and Wes Dutton at Haynes and Boone.

• An OFAC Compliance Checklist For Ransomware Payments

  

  As the U.S. government heightens its scrutiny of ransomware payments, victims that pay extortion demands can follow 12 steps to help establish the requisite mitigation and due diligence to avoid penalties from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.

• Cybersecurity Event-Driven Securities Litigation Has Arrived

  

  A recent shareholder lawsuit against First American Title Insurance Co. highlights that securities litigation prompted by regulatory actions may become increasingly prevalent in the cybersecurity context, say attorneys at Pasich.

• Limiting The Severity Of Deficient Securities Fraud Claims

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's evidentiary requirements of price impact at the class certification stage — established in its Halliburton II decision in 2014 — provide an effective solution to disqualify securities fraud claims with price impact deficiencies, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.

• The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guests Of 2020

  

  The most-read securities articles written by Law360 guest experts in 2020 centered around market volatility triggered by COVID-19; remote testimony considerations as courtroom proceedings moved online; and risk and compliance issues related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

• A Look At Contrasting Rules For Excess Insurance Policies

  

  Though the Delaware Superior Court held in Pfizer v. U.S. Specialty Insurance that claims settlements exceeding primary policy limits trigger excess insurance, policyholders should continue to pay close attention to exhaustion clause language due to competing court rules nationwide, say Brian Scarbrough and Deepthika Appuhamy at Jenner & Block.

• Del. Solera D&O Decision May Have Limited Impact

  

  While the Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Solera is a blow for companies in the state seeking protection for certain key appraisal proceedings, the ruling hinges on the insurers' narrow definition of a violation that will trigger directors and officers coverage for securities-related claims, making it unlikely that other jurisdictions will follow suit, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Treasury Stance On Ransomware Payment Could Hurt Targets

  

  Recent statements from two U.S. Department of the Treasury offices indicate that paying off ransomware with cryptocurrency may trigger certain registration requirements and U.S. sanctions scrutiny, placing a significant regulatory burden on cybervictims and their incident response consultants, say attorneys at McDermott.

• OFAC Cyber Ransom Guidance Has Insurance Implications

  

  A new advisory from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control will likely cause delay in insurance coverage determinations for ransom payments, but there are steps policyholders can take to secure coverage for restoration costs when a ransom is not paid, say attorneys at Hunton.

• How To Navigate A Hardening D&O Insurance Market

  

  The directors and officers liability insurance market's shift toward favoring sellers, coupled with the potential surge of lawsuits against companies as a result of COVID-19's economic impact, increases the importance of mitigating risks by reexamining existing D&O coverage, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• When Do Insureds' Legal Fees Constitute Defense Expenses?

  

  An Oklahoma federal court's surprising decision in Turner v. XL Specialty Insurance — now on appeal before the Tenth Circuit — found that a named defendant's legal costs did not qualify as defense expenses, highlighting ambiguities in how "defense" is defined for insurance purposes, say David Kroeger and Catherine Doyle at Jenner & Block.

• Why D&O Insurance Is Costly Despite Fewer Securities Suits

  

  Although securities class action filings have dropped drastically this year, the cost of directors and officers insurance continues to increase due to new risks presented by the pandemic and other factors, says Priya Huskins at Woodruff Sawyer.

• 3 Ways PE Firms Can Manage Risk Amid COVID-19

  

  Private equity firms should implement certain risk management tactics — such as requesting a preferred law firm and rejecting extrinsic evidence endorsements — in anticipation of increasing reluctance from insurers to cover legal defense costs amid the pandemic, says Ashley Jordan at Reed Smith.