News
Ninth Circuit Affirms Use of Genuine Dispute Doctrine in D&O Coverage Cases
The genuine dispute doctrine has received much attention recently by the California courts. Although the doctrine first arose in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, there has not been much…
Council for Disability Awareness Follows Approvals of Disability Claims by the SSA and Private Disability Insurers
Allison Bell of the National Underwriter reported on September 11, 2009 that approved disability claims rose more quickly in 2008 at the Social Security Disability Insurance program than at private…
District Court Applies Abuse of Discretion Standard of Review After Montour
Recently, in Montour v. Harford Life & Accident, 582 F.3d 933 (9th Cir. 2009), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in one of its most important cases, adopted a new…
Will Healthcare Reform Affect the Rate of Claim Denials?
On Monday October 19, 2009, Lisa Girion of the Los Angeles Times reported on the healthcare reform bills being debated in Congress and their potential impact on claim denials by…
California Supreme Court Embraces 1:1 Punitive Damages Ratio
The California Supreme Court has embraced the principle suggested by the U.S. Supreme Court that a ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages of one-to-one is the federal constitutional maximum…
House Committee Votes to Strip Health Insurance Industry of Exemption from Federal Antitrust Laws
As reported by the Associated Press, a House committee has voted to strip the health insurance industry of its exemption from federal antitrust laws as senators announced plans to take the…
California’s 2009 Insurance Legislation: It Was an Important Year
2009 was an important year for insurance legislation in California. An excellent review of this legislation was posted on December 4, 2009 by the Barger & Wolen LLP legal blog…
No More Gender Rating in California
The practice of paying different rates based on gender for the same insurance is called gender rating. Effective January 1, 2010, health insurance companies and HMO’s writing insurance in California will…
Duty to Defend Triggered by the Peculiar Risk Doctrine
In Amer. States Ins. v. Progressive Casualty Ins., 180 Cal. App. 4th 18 (2009), the California Court of Appeal addressed the “peculiar risk” doctrine in the context of an insurer’s…
President Proposes National Insurance Office
The Obama Administration is proposing the formation of a new office within the Treasury Department that would oversee the insurance industry. This announcement comes in the wake of statements from…
