" title="Peter H. Bickford Legal & Dispute Resolution Services"> Peter H. Bickford Legal & Dispute Resolution Services

The Insurance Division of the New York Department of Financial Services has proposed a regulation severely limiting the use of releases in the settlement of both first party and third party claims.  The consequences of this proposal, in particular how the regulation places the interests of third party claimants above those of policyholders, are the subject of my Insight column in the October 15^th issue of Insurance Advocate entitled “When is a Release Not a Release?”  Here is a link.

While we’re on the subject, how about we agree that it is OK to refer to the Insurance Division of the New York Department of Financial Services as simply the NY Insurance Department, NYID or NYDOI as in the old days?  Like those of us that still refer to the Met Life Building in Midtown Manhattan as the Pan Am building although it has not borne that names since 1981.  Unfortunately, the NY Insurance Division of the DFS does not lend itself easily to an acronym, although Superintendent Lawsky has acknowledged that the DFS is lovingly referred to as Doofus in some quarters.  So how about I-Doofus for the insurance division? Like the classic I Claudius?  Just a thought.

My Insight column for the September 24, 2012 issue of Insurance Advocate (www.insurance-advocate.com) explores the issue of whether a receiver should receive immunity for managing the estate of an insolvent insurer and if so, whether that immunity should be granted on a case by case basis by the supervising court or by statute for all receivers.  While the topic of immunity for receivers has been debated for many years, the issue is particularly relevant today in view of the court’s grant of judicial immunity to the receiver and his agents in the Executive Life Insurance Company of New York matter where the company was not insolvent when placed into rehabilitation in 1991, but is now insolvent by more than $1.6 billion.  Does this grant of judicial immunity effectively prevent exploring the causes of the insolvency and, if appropriate, holding those responsible accountable?  A copy of the column is available from my website at www.pbnylaw.com/publications/.