Welcome to the Spring 2007 issue of SmithAmundsen’s Insurance Services Quarterly. Please click here to view the issue.
The Insurance Services Group of SmithAmundsen represents insurers in every aspect of their business. Our clients include property and casualty companies, excess and surplus lines insurers, life and health companies and reinsurers. In keeping with the scope of our practice, this newsletter is intended to keep you informed of developments in the business of insurance. Although we will report on significant legal developments, the newsletter will not be limited to case summaries. We will also comment on the potential impact of legal developments on the future of the industry. Our upcoming issues will report on important developments in the business of insurance, such as innovative methods of risk transfer, which will have an impact on our clients in the near future. We will also focus on issues surrounding trends in bad faith claims and litigation. The insurance industry is in the midst of substantial change. We hope to keep our friends and clients "ahead of the curve."
The focus of this issue is centered on recent developments in the law. For example, three major courts, including the highest courts in two states, have recently ruled on the issue of number of occurrences in the context of asbestos bodily injury claims. This issue could have an impact on the potential liability of insurers facing asbestos or other product liability claims. In addition, the Minnesota Supreme Court has shifted its position on allocation in a way that could also impact insurers' potential exposure. On the regulatory front, the Illinois Supreme Court has recently accepted a Canadian life insurer's constitutional challenge to Illinois's imposition of retaliatory taxes on alien insurers. In the field of reinsurance, a California court has declined to imply a "follow the fortunes" clause in a reinsurance contract. Finally, two courts have recently addressed the enforceability of arbitration awards.