Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Reinsurer Efforts to Avoid the 'Follow the Fortunes' Doctrine Should Be Rejected
When dealing with 'captive' reinsureds, some reinsurers seek to restrict their obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements, in an effort to obtain rights held by 'direct' insurers, but rarely extended to reinsurers. A captive reinsured is one whose '[i]nsurance provides coverage for the group or business that established it.' Black's Law Dictionary 803 (7th ed. 1999). Indeed, while reinsurers have similar 'duties' as direct insurers, such as the duty to act in good faith, their 'rights' are much more limited. Most importantly, and based upon well-established custom and practice, case law, and applicable contractual language, a reinsurer has no right to conduct its own investigation into coverage decisions made by its reinsured and in only very limited circumstances may it second-guess those decisions. In fact, unless a reinsurer can prove bad faith conduct by its reinsured in handling claims made by underlying insureds, a reinsurer generally has no choice but to reimburse its reinsured for amounts paid pursuant to underlying policies.
Despite this fact, some reinsurers argue a right to change these established rules in order to find excuses to avoid payment obligations under their reinsurance agreements. In particular, these reinsurers claim a right to review all information gathered by their reinsureds in evaluating underlying claims, and even attempt to conduct their own detailed, expensive, and time-consuming investigations. Based upon the information independently gathered, these reinsurers then challenge the adequacy of their reinsureds' evaluations of underlying claims and decisions to pay those claims. In other words, such reinsurers use the information that they gather to second-guess their reinsureds' coverage determinations in order to avoid their duties to reimburse their reinsureds for amounts paid.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.