In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) approved a new accounting standard, the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) model, to replace the former incurred loss model for measuring credit risk on financial instruments. This change will accelerate the financial reporting of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments, including reinsurance … [Read more...] about Preparing for CECL: A Ceded Reinsurance Perspective
Legislation/Statutes
A-Ok in OK
Carolyn Fahey and Francine Semaya recently had the pleasure of interviewing Oklahoma Insurance Department Commissioner John Doak and others in the Department. They talked about the Oklahoma Senate Bill 1101, known as the Insurance Business Transfer Act, that was signed by Governor Mary Fallin on May 7, 2018. This new law provides an efficient mechanism for insurance companies … [Read more...] about A-Ok in OK
Brexit: Whats going on?
A good few eyes are focused on the daily, if not hourly, developing news on the UK’s departure from the European Union. What does it mean for the London Market and in turn for those who deal with its many participants both in the EU and throughout the rest of the world? The run-up to Brexit might have resonances of Y2K and the millennium bug but it is distinctly different. Y2K … [Read more...] about Brexit: Whats going on?
Legacy Watershed: Capitalizing on the New Legislative Options for Runoff
New legislation is loosening the tight regulatory knot that’s been wrapped around legacy insurance business in the U.S. Upcoming game-changers include: Key amendments to the Rhode Island Voluntary Restructuring Statute (the ‘Rhode Island Statute’), which, among other amendments (House Bill 8163), would allow (re)insurers to transfer eligible portfolios without requiring … [Read more...] about Legacy Watershed: Capitalizing on the New Legislative Options for Runoff
The Impact of the Tax Reform Act on the Insurance Industry
Touted as the most significant federal tax legislation since 1986, Public Law 115-97 – informally known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “TCJA”) – was enacted on December 22, 2017. This article examines the potential impact of several provisions of the TCJA on the insurance industry. The changes in the TCJA to domestic corporate tax provisions, including the corporate tax … [Read more...] about The Impact of the Tax Reform Act on the Insurance Industry
The Legacy Market: Anticipation. Excitement. Commitment. Patience. That Order.
In the previous three articles, we took a journey that would be a dream if it were a holiday itinerary: Europe and its uniform legal and regulatory framework for portfolio transfers; then Europe met the U.S., which with small but steady steps is trying to develop its own system for legal finality and insurance business transfers; and finally, we focused on Rhode Island, … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Anticipation. Excitement. Commitment. Patience. That Order.
Insurance Business Transfer Statutes
A panel comprised of Eleni Iacovides of DARAG, Vincent Laurenzano and Bernhardt Nadell of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Jim Wrynn of FTI Consulting, and Frank Schmid of AIG discussed the various statutory and regulatory provisions governing insurance business transfers. The panel addressed traditional statutory and regulatory procedures for handling impaired and insolvent … [Read more...] about Insurance Business Transfer Statutes
The Legacy Market: Resistance. Protection. Equivalence. Vision. That Order.
In The Legacy Market article that ran in the Spring 2017 issue, we discussed the various exit and capital release tools available to the European insurance market with each providing different degrees of finality and capital relief. The second Legacy Market article which ran in the Fall issue, discussed the first finality statute available in the U.S. and steps taken by other … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Resistance. Protection. Equivalence. Vision. That Order.
Separate but Not Equal
Recent developments indicate that U.S. regulators are responding to these market realities. In 2015, Rhode Island passed regulations providing for “insurance business transfers” for commercial P&C runoff business. The Rhode Island Insurance Business Transfer (RI IBT) is modeled on the U.K.’s Part VII Transfer that has been British law for almost 20 years and has resulted in … [Read more...] about Separate but Not Equal
The Legacy Market: Strength. Stability. Transparency. Certainty. That Order.
In a world where “strong and stable” equates to weak and uncertain, the European legacy market remains strong and stable (as defined by the Oxford Dictionary), transparent, and continues to deliver Certainty (the capital C is not a typo!) and a cleaner, leaner and stronger balance sheet to each carrier that engages in the process through the implementation of the most … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Strength. Stability. Transparency. Certainty. That Order.
USF&G v. American Re Settles
What does that mean? If rumors are to be believed (and there is no reason to think that they should not be), the long running dispute of United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. American ReInsurance Co. (“USF&G v. Am Re”) settled with trial looming. As many will remember, in February 2013, the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) issued an important … [Read more...] about USF&G v. American Re Settles
Rhode Island Regulation 68: Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act
Recently Rhode Island revised its Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act as implemented by DBR Regulation 68. This is, in many respects, modeled after the UK’s Part VII Transaction, which, subject to court approval, enables companies to transfer/novate a book of business (and divest itself of all residual liability), to another unrelated insurer that assumes all … [Read more...] about Rhode Island Regulation 68: Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act
Does Covered Mean Equal? EU and U.S. Bilateral Agreement on Insurance and Reinsurance
On January 13, 2017, the Secretary of the Treasury (“Treasury”), the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) and the European Union (“EU”) took the industry and regulators alike by surprise when they issued a press release announcing the completion of negotiations and the finalization of the “Bilateral Agreement Between the European Union and the United States of America on … [Read more...] about Does Covered Mean Equal? EU and U.S. Bilateral Agreement on Insurance and Reinsurance
Lessons of ROM v. Continental: Who Decides Whether Claims are Timely and Under What Circumstances?
Assume you are a reinsurer and you receive a number of arbitration demands. At least one of the demands pertains to a claim (“OLD CLAIM”) where you denied reinsurance coverage nearly 10 years ago. You agree to consolidate the arbitrations. You also name your arbitrator as a precaution because the treaties require that an arbitrator be named quickly and you still have to … [Read more...] about Lessons of ROM v. Continental: Who Decides Whether Claims are Timely and Under What Circumstances?
Clearing the Smoke: Legal Marijuana: An Insurable Risk
George Washington reportedly grew it. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have admitted to smoking it (although only one admitted to inhaling). A 2015 Gallup poll revealed that 44% of American adults have tried it. Twenty-three states have legalized it for medical use, and four have done so for recreational use. “It,” of course, is marijuana, also known as cannabis, weed, or pot. … [Read more...] about Clearing the Smoke: Legal Marijuana: An Insurable Risk
Light Speed Liquidation: A Roadmap of Reliance’s Steps to Rapid Closure of the Estate
On October 3, 2001, Reliance Insurance Company was placed into liquidation by Order of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. In her Petition to the Commonwealth Court seeking an Order to place Reliance into liquidation, Commissioner of Insurance Diane M. Koken indicated that Reliance had a negative surplus of over one billion dollars. Reliance, at the time, was considered to … [Read more...] about Light Speed Liquidation: A Roadmap of Reliance’s Steps to Rapid Closure of the Estate
When Courts Peek Under the Arbitral Veil: The Role of the Courts in Managing Your Reinsurance Arbitration
Arbitration in general is intended as an alternative to litigation in the courts. For good reasons, courts rarely intervene in pending arbitrations and instead require the parties, under most circumstances, to wait for a final award before seeking redress for perceived grievances in the arbitration process. Indeed, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. (“FAA”), … [Read more...] about When Courts Peek Under the Arbitral Veil: The Role of the Courts in Managing Your Reinsurance Arbitration
Blending Free Market Economy with a Sense of Reality: The Federal Insurance Office
Update Since the time when I penned this article that appeared in the Spring 2011 issue of AIRROC Matters, a lot has changed. At the end of 2014, the U.S. still topped the world market with a GDP of $17.3 Trillion, up $4.4 Trillion from year end 2009. China was second, with a GDP of $10.4 Trillion. The Federal Insurance Office published its Annual Report for the U.S. … [Read more...] about Blending Free Market Economy with a Sense of Reality: The Federal Insurance Office
Insurance Business Transfer: Rhode Island’s Answer to Part VII
Something new and important is coming to the $200 billion plus run-off market in the U.S. Proposed amendments to Insurance Regulation 68 are pending in the State of Rhode Island (RI) and are expected to be approved later this year. These amendments have the potential to invigorate and transform the market, similar to what has occurred in the UK run-off market over the last … [Read more...] about Insurance Business Transfer: Rhode Island’s Answer to Part VII
Test Drive the Future of Runoff: The Vermont Legacy Insurance Management Act of 2014
Companies and investors in the runoff space are generally aware that the State of Vermont’s new Legacy Insurance Management Act (LIMA), signed into law on February 19, 2014, has created a novel runoff business transfer method in a runoff market that has long been in need of growth and innovation, but the Act, its background and its potential applications have only begun to be … [Read more...] about Test Drive the Future of Runoff: The Vermont Legacy Insurance Management Act of 2014
