A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Reuters reports today that the cost of reinsurance has fallen due to another relatively disaster-free year. Rates for property catastrophe reinsurance, which typically cover hurricanes and earthquakes, are down 9 percent. The U.S. subprime mortgage market crises has not impacted reinsurers.
The lack of natural disasters have allowed reinsurers to obtain
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The Insurance Journal has identified the top ten insurance stories of 2007. We addressed some of the topics in this Blog, including climate change, hurricane coverage, and the recent passage of Terrorist Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.
Robert gave his initial impressions of this new Hawaii Supreme Court case last week. Del Monte Fresh Produce (Hawaii), Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 117 Haw. 357, 183 P.3d 734 (2007). I add some thoughts and a summary below. By way of disclaimer, my name appears in the decision as one …
The Hawaii Supreme Court just held yesterday that insurance policies with an “assignments require consent” clause cannot be assigned without the insurance company’s consent. In Del Monte Fresh Produce (Hawaii), Inc. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. the Hawaii Supreme Court expressly held an assignment will not occur as a matter of law, but rather only…
Today’s Honolulu Advertiser reports that Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island has sued one of its excess carriers for failure to provide coverage for earthquake damage suffered in October 2006. The story reports that three of the Hotel’s carriers have paid policy limits amounting to $30 million. Affiliated FM Insurance Co., …
President Bush signed today H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, preventing the expiration of the Act on December 31, 2007, and extending the federal insurance program for seven years. The Act extends coverage to catastrophic acts of not only foreign terrorism but also domestic terrorism.
In our continuing coverage of Congress’ rush to beat the December 31, 2007 expiration date of the 2002 Terrorist Risk Insurance Act, we note the House on Tuesday bowed to pressure from the Senate and the White House to pass a less ambitious extension of the Act than it had previously passed. Earlier
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Coverage of wind and flood damage under homeowners’ policies in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been a hot topic of litigation. Because Hawaii is also prone to wind and flood damage, cases addressing coverage under homeowners’ policies has relevance here.
A recent case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,
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In February, 2006, Federal District Court Judge Helen Gillmor granted the insurer’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, determining there was no duty to defend. Scottdale Ins. Co. v. Sullivan Properties, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11582 (D. Haw., Feb. 27, 2006). The decision invited Scottsdale move for reimbursement of defense costs.
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Practitioners have noticed, and have been puzzled by, a schism in the Supreme Court of Hawai`i’s rulings on attorneys’ fees in bad faith actions. At least one case held that a bad faith action was in the nature of assumpsit and, thus, awarded fees to the insurer from the insured. Six months later, another case…
