Insurance Law Commons^™

Consumer Claims For Insurance Company Drone Surveillance, Chad J. Pomeroy

Faculty Articles

Many people do not own their homes outright-they finance the purchase of their home by taking out a mortgage against it. This typically means that the homeowner is contractually obligated to do a number of things-like pay real property taxes, keep the property in good condition, and keep it insured, even as prices skyrocket. But even worse, the pool of providers is materially shrinking with some insurers now either not writing or limiting new policies or tightening underwriting standards in some markets. Insurance companies pull out of markets because they cannot make enough money in those markets to be profitable. …

Making A Declaration: The Rise Of Declaratory Judgment Actions And The Insurer As Regulator In The Fight To End Sex Trafficking In The Hotel Industry, Lori N. Ross

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

“Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.”

– William Wilberforce

In Defense Of The Restatement Of Liability Insurance Law, Tom Baker, Kyle D. Logue

Articles

The importance of liability law to the American system of justice, and to the US economy in general, are well known. Somewhat less well known, at least among non-lawyers, is the corresponding centrality of liability insurance. For most non-contractual legal claims for damages that are brought against individuals or firms, there is some form of liability insurance coverage. Such coverage, provided by state-regulated insurance companies, ranges from auto and homeowners’ policies (sold to consumers throughout the country) to commercial general liability policies (sold to businesses of all sizes) to professional liability policies of various sorts (including Directors and Officers coverage …

The Personal Liability Of Insurance Claims Adjusters For Insurance Bad Faith, Chad G. Marzen

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Regulating Systemic Risk In Insurance, Daniel Schwarcz, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

As exemplified by the dramatic failure of AIG, insurance companies and their affiliates played a central role in the 2008 global financial crisis. It is therefore not surprising that the Dodd-Frank Act—the United States’ primary legislative re-sponse to the crisis—contained an entire title dedicated to insurance regulation, which has traditionally been the responsibility of individual states. The most important insurance-focused reforms in Dodd-Frank empower the Federal Reserve Bank to impose an additional layer of regulatory scrutiny on top of state insurance regulation for a small number of “systemically important” nonbank financial companies, such as AIG. This Article argues, however, that …

Amendments To Federal Removal Statutes: Curtailing Adjudication Of Diversity Cases Or Bad Faith Causes Of Action?, Brooke M. Gaffney

Barry Law Review

This student comment explores the problem facing Florida insurers preventing them from exercising their right to litigate bad faith causes of action in federal court. This article demonstrates how the federal removal statutes, and amendments thereto, have potentially precluded insurers from removing some bad faith actions from state to federal court under diversity jurisdiction. This article details the divergence in opinion among Florida’s Southern and Middle District Courts in interpreting the federal removal statutes and concludes with a prediction of how the split may be resolved by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

How Insurance Substitutes For Regulation, Omri Ben-Shahar, Kyle D. Logue

Articles

Legal regulation of behavior requires information. Acquiring information about the regulated party's conduct, setting benchmarks by which that conduct is measured, and establishing the correct scale of payoffs for violating or following regulation are costly and require expertise and motivation. Thus, economic theories of rulemaking are often based on the relative information advantages that different regulatory bodies have and how that information can be harnessed to enhance incentives and thereby improve welfare. Government regulators, on average, do not have informational advantages. They are not paid for performance and thus may lack adequate incentives. They are not disciplined by market forces …

Standing To Sue A Carrier's Killers , Davis J. Howard

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Mccarran-Ferguson Act's Intersection With Foreign Insurance Companies, Angela D. Krupar

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note is designed to answer a simple question: must insurance companies incorporated in foreign countries follow the same rules as their competitors incorporated in this country? More specifically, it addresses whether the McCarran-Ferguson Act should reach foreign insurance companies and foreign commerce.

The Disaster After The Disaster: Insurance Companies’ Post- Catastrophe Claims Handling Practices, Kelsey D. Dulin

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where The Windfall Falls Short: “Appropriate Equitable Relief” After Sereboff V. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc., Kristin L. Huffaker

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

H.R. 3355, The Homeowners Defense Act Of 2007: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Housing And Community Opportunity And The Subcomm. On Capital Markets Of The H. Comm. On Financial Services, 110th Cong., Sept. 6, 2007 (Statement Of John D. Echeverria, Geo. U. L. Center), John D. Echeverria

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Insurers, Illusions Of Judgment & Litigation, Chris Guthrie, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Insurers play a critical role in the civil justice system. By providing liability insurance to parties who would otherwise be untenable as defendants, insurers make litigation possible. Once litigation materializes, insurers provide representation, pay legal fees, and often play a central role in resolving disputes through settlement or adjudication. In this paper, we explore empirically how these key litigation players make important decisions in the litigation process, like evaluating a case, deciding whether to settle, and if so, on what terms. We find that insurers, though not entirely immune to the effects of cognitive illusions that have been shown to …

A Tarnished Golden Rule — Why Badillo V. Mid Century Insurance Co. Demands Further Clarification From The Oklahoma Supreme Court Regarding The Tort Of Bad Faith, Andrew Kernan

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Catastrophic Effects Of Natural Disasters On Insurance Markets, W. Kip Viscusi, Patricia Born

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Natural catastrophes often have catastrophic risks on insurance companies as well as on the insured. Using a very large dataset on homeowners insurance coverage by state, by firm, and by year for the 1984 to 2004 period, this paper documents the positive effect on losses and loss ratios of both unexpected catastrophes as well as large events that the authors term "blockbuster catastrophes." Insurers adapt to these catastrophic risks by raising insurance rates, leading to lower loss ratios after the catastrophic event. There is a widespread event of unexpected catastrophes and blockbuster catastrophes that reduces total premiums earned in the …

Holt V. Grange Mutual Casualty Co.: Children Not Insureds Under Policy Are Entitled To Death Benefits , Barbara J. Tyler, Thomas S. Tyler

Cleveland State Law Review

The automobile insurance industry is up in arms after a decade of consumer friendly Ohio Supreme Court decisions. The insurance industry and commentators have noted the trend of judicial activism in interpreting insurance contracts. These decisions have been overwhelmingly in favor of consumers and against insurance companies. The Ohio Supreme Court decision of Holt v. Grange Mutual Casualty Co., is another consumer friendly decision and represents both an equitable and sound interpretation and application of Ohio law to consumer insurance contracts. This note walks through the Holt case, starting at the trial court level and working up through the Ohio …

The Tort Of Bad Faith In First-Party Insurance Transactions: Refining The Standard Of Culpability And Reformulating The Remedies By Statute, Roger C. Henderson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article explores the common-law and statutory background of the tort of bad faith in first-party insurance situations analyzes the varying standards of culpability that have been developed by the courts and suggests a uniform statutory solution to the problems created by the varying standards. The statute also tailors the remedies more closely to the particular type of insurer wrongdoing. The proposed remedies recognize the dual nature of the insurer-insured relationship, that is, one based upon contract and tort concepts. Such a statute would eliminate many of the ambiguities and other deficiencies in the common law of those states that …

Due Process

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Application Of The Antitrust Laws To The Activities Of Insurance Companies: Heavier Risks, Expanded Coverage, And Greater Liability, Joseph P. Bauer, Earl W. Kintner, Michael J. Allen

Journal Articles

Since 1945 Congress has exempted certain activities of insurance companies from federal antitrust scrutiny. This exemption, provided by the McCarran-Ferguson Act, is not unqualified; it only applies to insurance company activities that constitute the "business of insurance" and that already are regulated under state law. Moreover, the exemption does not apply to activities that involve boycotts, coercion, or intimidation. The purpose of this exemption was to preserve the long tradition of state regulation of insurance, while providing federal remedies for coercive anticompetitive activities. The authors examine recent Supreme Court interpretations of the Act in light of this legislative policy and …

Taxing Personal Insurance: The Case Of Tax Audit Insurance, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Insurance Company Interference In Personal Injury Law Practice, Sheldon E. Baskin

Cleveland State Law Review

The cloak of immunity that the insurance companies wear, and the fact that recently a trend has been noticed encouraging settlements, results in attorneys, finding their just fees diminished by the interference of third persons not in privity with the attorney-client contract, being compelled to find other means of redressing the wrongs thus perpetrated against them.

Appeal And Error - Bad Faith Of Counsel As A Basis For Granting A New Trial Where Fact That Defendant Was Insured Was Brought To Attention Of Jury, Raymond H. Rapaport

Michigan Law Review

It is generally agreed that the jury in a personal injury action should not be informed that the defendant is covered by indemnity insurance. The reasons for the rule are that the matter of insurance is irrelevant, and that the exposition of its existence is prejudicial. The jury is likely to grant more and larger verdicts for the plaintiff when it is known that an insurance company, rather than the individual defendant being tried, will have to pay the judgment. However, the fact that the defendant is insured reaches the jury in a multitude of ways. While direct evidence of …

Garnishment - Full Faith And Credit - Nature Of Principal Judgment, John N. Seaman

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, appellee, sued an Illinois insurance company for legal services, and on the same day sued out a writ of garnishment against a Michigan debtor of the insurance company. Two days later the insurance company was dissolved in Illinois under the provisions of the Illinois Insurance Code, and an Illinois liquidator was vested with title to all of the insurance company's property, wherever located. The liquidator intervened in this case, claiming prior title to the garnishment debt, by virtue of the Illinois statute and judicial proceedings. Held, the commencement of the garnishment suit gave plaintiff a lien on the …

International Law - Recognition Of Soviet Russia - Extraterritorial Effect Of Decrees Of Confiscation And Nationalization

Michigan Law Review

The Moscow Fire Insurance Company, the Northern Insurance Company of Moscow, and the First Russian Insurance Company were incorporated in Russia under the Czarist regime, and given authority to do business in New York. Deposits were made in New York for the benefit of policy holders and creditors in this country. Subsequent to the revolution in Russia and the Soviet decrees nationalizing all Russian corporations and confiscating without compensation such corporations' assets in Russia and abroad, these deposits were turned over to the New York State Insurance Commissioner for liquidation. Large sums remained after domestic claims were satisfied and the …

Constitutionality Of Teachers' Pensions Legislation Ii:The Validity Of The Proposed Michigan Law, Continued, Horace L. Wilgus

Michigan Law Review

We considered the constitutionality of Sections I, and II, of the proposed act in the former paper.

Constitutionality Of Teachers' Pensions Legislation Ii: The Validity Of The Proposed Michigan Law, Horace L. Wilgus

Michigan Law Review

In the preceding paper, we considered pension legislation in general -- its extent, forms, purpose, and relation to the taxing power of the state and nation. It is proposed in this paper to discuss in detail the provisions of the proposed Michigan teachers' pension law in the light of the general principles, set forth in the former paper, with reference to specific constitutional provisions, and the decisions of the courts upon-the validity of pensions for firemen and policemen which are similar in many respects to teachers' pension systems, together with such decisions as have been made concerning the constitutionality of …