Category(s): Alabama - 07/13/2020

Bulletin No. 2020-14 

Stephen W. Still, Esq. - BALCH & BINGHAM LLP, (205) 488-5512 , sstill@balch.com

Category(s): Florida - 07/13/2020

Pursuant to Florida Statutes, the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) is required to estimate the amount necessary for the administration to maintain the Special Disability Trust Fund and the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund, respectively. As such, the DFS issued two informational bulletins in late June setting the assessment rates for the 2021 calendar year:
• DWC-02-2020  – Order Setting Assessment Rate for the Special Disability Trust Fund for Calendar Year 2021
• DWC-03-2020  – Order Setting Assessment Rate for the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund for Calendar Year 2021

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Florida - 07/13/2020

On May 19, 2020, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) Advisory Council met to review estimates and take a final vote on the May 2020 FHCF Claims-Paying Capacity. The FHCF solicited formal written feedback from the five current senior managing underwriters of the FHCF’s financial services team. The Advisory Council voted unanimously to accept the report. GT’s recap of the meeting can be viewed here .

Richard J. Fidei, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP, (954) 592-5530

Category(s): Florida - 07/13/2020

In an effort to assist the industry in understanding the filing process and deadlines, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) issued a notice to provide guidance to insurers about the form and rate filing process in Florida for life and health insurance products, including Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) compliant products in the small and individual markets. Click here  to view the OIR notice issued on May 15, 2020.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Florida - 07/15/2020

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) is taking steps to finalize Draft Rule 69O-143.0466, Contents of Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure  by presenting the draft to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) at the next Florida Cabinet meeting (specific date to be determined) for approval to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule and start the 90-day rulemaking process. Once the 90-day period has concluded, the final version will be filed with the Department of State, and the rule will go into effect 20 days after the filing. This proposed rule would implement the NAIC Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Model Act #305 and the NAIC Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Model Regulation #306, which will only apply to future reports due after the rule is adopted.

Fred E. Karlinsky, Esq. - GREENBERG TRAURIG, P.A., (954) 768-8278 , karlinskyf@gtlaw.com

Category(s): Georgia - 07/15/2020

Daily Underwriters of America provided commercial auto liability insurance to CC&D Trucking, LLC and a truck driven by its owner, Edward Heard. While driving his tractor-trailer, Heard hit the car in which Veronica and Marleaux Williams were traveling. Heard had driven his tractor-trailer from Bainbridge, Georgia to pick up a load in Charlotte, North Carolina for delivery in Monroe, Georgia. The accident involving Heard and the Williams occurred after Heard had completed his delivery and was driving from Monroe, Georgia back to his home in Bainbridge, Georgia. The Williams joined Daily Underwriters in their tort action brought against Heard under Georgia’s direct-action statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-1-112(c), which allows direct actions against insurers of intrastate motor carriers for the liability of an intrastate motor carriers’ negligence. The trial court denied Daily Underwriters’ motion for summary judgement on the basis that CC&D was an interstate motor carrier. The appellate court affirmed the denial, finding that, while Heard’s travel back to his home did not, under the “trip specific rule”, convert his trip to an intrastate trip where his original fixed and persisting intent was to retrieve a load of goods in North Carolina, O.C.G.A. § 40-1-140, the interstate motor carrier direct action statute, nevertheless applied even if the trial court’s denial of Daily Underwriters’ motion for summary judgement was for the wrong reason.

Brian T. Casey, Esq. - LOCKE LORD LLP, (404) 870-4638 , bcasey@lockelord.com

Category(s): Georgia - 07/15/2020

The Georgia Insurance Commissioner issued Bulletin 20-EX-7 on April 28, 2020, regarding the wind-down of certain prior COVID-19 pandemic directives as follows:

Directive 20-EX-4: May 31, 2020, expiration of insurance agents’ continuing education filing extension deadlines

Directive 20-EX-5:
• May 19, 2020: expiration of property and casualty insurers’ obligation to refrain from canceling for non-payment of premium commercial insurance policies with business interruption coverage
• May 31, 2020: expiration of heath insurers’ obligation to refrain from canceling for non-payment of premium health insurance policies
• May 31, 2020: expiration of suspension of insurance department filing deadlines and waiver of late filing fees    

Directive 20-EX-7: May 25, 2020, expiration of entire bulletin related to suspension of certain utilization review and notice requirements

Brian T. Casey, Esq. - LOCKE LORD LLP, (404) 870-4638 , bcasey@lockelord.com

Category(s): Georgia - 07/15/2020

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgement to insurance agent Thomas Chasteen in a suit brought against him by Mark Martin for Chasteen’s alleged negligent failure to procure property insurance for Martin’s new horse barn. In 2011, Martin purchased property insurance for his two dwellings and an equipment building from Chasteen. In 2013 and 2014, Martin built a new horse barn, which lightning destroyed in 2016, and was not insured under his property insurance policy insuring the other structures located on his farm. In finding that Chasteen was not liable to Martin, the court reiterated the general rule that an insured has a duty to read and examine his insurance policy to determine whether the desired insurance coverage has been obtained by the policy. In this case, Martin’s farm insurance policy’s declarations clearly showed that only the dwellings and equipment building were insured and the new horse barn had not been added as a covered structure to the farm insurance policy, even if the insured did not have a copy of the entire insurance policy and especially here where the policy was a renewal policy. Also, the court determined that Chasteen did not have a special relationship with Martin, which, if applicable, would have excused Martin from his duty to read the policy, and regardless the duty to read the policy would still have applied because it was readily apparent from the declarations page that the new barn was not insured.

Brian T. Casey, Esq. - LOCKE LORD LLP, (404) 870-4638 , bcasey@lockelord.com

Category(s): Tennessee - 07/13/2020

Longstanding captive insurance industry executive Belinda Fortman has been named by Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance, Hodgen Mainda, as Director of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Captive Insurance Section.  Fortman, who succeeded Jennifer Stalvey as TDCI’s senior captives regulator on June 29, oversees Tennessee’s more than 200 licensed captives and 470 approved captive cells.

T. Stephen C. Taylor, Esq. - BASS, BERRY & SIMS, PLC, (615) 742-7758 , staylor@bassberry.com
Robins H. Ledyard, Esq. - BASS, BERRY & SIMS, PLC, (615) 742-6259