Insurance & Financial Services

As financial professionals struggle to adapt during these trying times, securities regulators are also revising their processes and procedures to address the current realities of investor protection in the time of COVID-19 while being fair to the regulated entities.

On March 23, 2020 the SEC issued a statement warning about the risks of insider trading posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This alert discusses what companies outsourcing critical business process functions to India should do in light of the Indian government’s order that telecom, IT, and other technology companies should, as far as possible, work from home.

On March 23, 2020, the New York Senate proposed legislation that would forever waive rent payment obligations and mortgage payment obligations due from certain residential tenants and small business commercial tenants for 90 days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This alert covers new DSIO temporary relief to a major insured depository institution (IDI) and commodity pool operators related to COVID-19 as well as temporary relief from the NFA to CPO members.

This alert outlines the conditions set forth in the DSIO and DMO’s no-action letters providing temporary relief to market participants facing COVID-19–related challenges.

This alert from the Mintz Financial Services Practice reviews the recent relief and guidance provided for NFA and FINRA member firms related to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Enforcement Section of the Massachusetts Securities Division (“MSD”) recently filed an Administrative Complaint against Ryan Patrick Skinner (“Skinner”) and related entities Summit Financial Partners and Summit Financial Ptrs Inc of Woburn, MA (together, “Summit”). 

During the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) symposium series in June 2019, the featured panel discussed whether it was necessary for the Bureau to further define “abusive acts or practices” under the Dodd-Frank Act.

As they do at this time each year, the SEC Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently announced their examination priorities for 2020.

This post explains how to set up and monitor a retirement plan fiduciary committee in a manner that insulates the plan sponsor’s board and senior management from unnecessary fiduciary exposure.

Open Enrollment is fast approaching and the landscape with be notably different than in years past. From the introduction of short-term plans and association health plans to proposals to allow for greater use of health reimbursement arrangements, the strength of the Marketplace will be tested and will inform future policy considerations. We cover this and more in this week's health care preview.

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) released new guidelines (the “Guidance”) on the application and approval process for states seeking waivers through Section 1332 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) from certain requirements for health plans issued under the ACA. The Guidance replaces guidelines issued under the Obama Administration and previously published on December 16, 2015. This post highlights how the Guidance differs from the Obama Administration guidelines and what those differences will mean for states seeking Section 1332 waivers.

On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, applying New Hampshire law, held that a professional liability insurer did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by settling a New Hampshire medical malpractice suit over its insured’s objection. 

After being in the insurance industry for several decades in a variety of roles, I frequently get asked which insurtechs I think are going to be successful.

The potential to disrupt the historic insurance industry model has made insurtech one of the hottest new areas of innovation and investment, with entrepreneurs developing technologies at a breakneck pace and venture capital firms seeking to put investment dollars behind an exciting range of new products and services aimed at efficiencies and cost savings.

From May 22-26 Mintz Levin participated in the annual NAIC Insurance Summit in Kansas City. A main theme of this year’s Summit was technology and innovation. The Summit was remarkable in that it served as a meeting grounds for key market players: technology incumbents, such as insurers, insurtech start-ups, venture capital firms, accelerators, producers and regulators.

Decisions you make when founding and/or investing in an insurtech venture can dictate your regulatory obligations, tax liability, operational structure and, ultimately, profitability. Here are five seemingly simple questions to ask when launching an insurtech venture:

The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission conducted its fourth annual Cost Trends Hearing on October 17 and 18, 2016, under the requirements of Massachusetts’s 2012 health care reform legislation (“Chapter 224”).

Policyholders often seek to challenge an insurer’s denial of coverage on the grounds that the insurer waived a defense relied upon to deny coverage.