The American Academy of Actuaries has released a new public policy paper (reprinted below) and issue brief cautioning that clarification may be needed regarding estimated life expectancy showing significant decreases in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Reports of considerable decreases in life expectancy driven by COVID-19 may certainly garner attention, but they can potentially be […]
On the first day of the new session of the NY State Legislature, the Senate Insurance and Health committees held a joint forum on the failure of Health Republic Insurance Company of New York, the largest of the non-profit health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act. State regulators shut down Health Republic last […]
In December, Governor Cuomo vetoed two bills intended by their sponsors to strengthen New York’s freedom of information law, or FOIL. In his veto message the Governor stated: “While I appreciate the Legislature’s attempt to further transparency in government, these bills provide an unworkable, inequitable, and piecemeal approach to FOIL reform.” Sounds like the legislation […]
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Hope springs eternal in the human breast ~Dante’s Inferno ~Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man No matter how discouraging, frustrating or bad the year has been, the prospect of a new year always seems to evoke a sense of optimism for a better tomorrow. A new year: a […]
The new Spielberg/Hanks movie “Bridge of Spies” is by all accounts a relatively factual telling of a 1950s Cold War drama played out on the front pages of the press with little public knowledge of the real drama occurring behind the scenes. The movie’s hero is an insurance lawyer from Brooklyn, James B. Donovan, who […]
Insurance producers can be forgiven for their skepticism toward regulatory efforts to create a uniform national licensing process. Over the past couple of decades, as producers found it competitively necessary to expand their reach beyond their home state, they were introduced to the wonderful world of state individuality – each jurisdiction with its own set […]
Anyone who has travelled in or visited the Southeastern US is likely to be familiar with kudzu, the ubiquitous climbing vine that seems to have swallowed large chunks of landscape, invading and conquering whole forests in an unstoppable march. Kudzu, a plant native to Japan and China, was introduced in the 1920s as forage, and […]
One of the most important tasks in advising insurance company or producer management over the years has been to stress the importance of reporting violations – no matter how minor, incidental or innocent – to the regulatory authorities. The challenge is to overcome management’s fear of repercussions that often outweighs the potential consequences of not […]
Every once in a while it seems like a good idea to take a refresher course on the wonderful world of insurance regulation from our state regulators, to our national overlords, to the international financial wannabe wizards: a little bit of summer school, if you will, to catch up on all the developments that we […]
Whatever else you may think about Governor Cuomo’s policies, you have to appreciate his ability to be ahead of the field when it comes to tooting one’s horn. Take, for instance, his e-mail blast within minutes of the end of the legislative session. The session gaveled out at 12:18 a.m. Friday, April 25th, and less […]
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