EXCESS,
SURPLUS LINES AND REINSURANCE
(ESLR)
Committee News
| A Word From the Chair
| Annual Meeting | Annual Business Meeting |
| TIPS Law Journal | Nothing But Net
| Surplus Lines Law Annotations Project Completed |
October 1997
A Word from the Chair
By Kenneth M. Roberts
Schiff Hardin & Waite, Chicago, IL
First, a very big thank you to David Larson
for his work as the last-retiring Chair of ESLR. David, as many of you already know, is
not only a great trial attorney, but a master in building a consensus within a group and
in allowing everyone an opportunity to actively participate. Although they are big shoes
to fill, I hope to continue the spirit of comradery and the pursuit of excellence that
David brought to this Committee. I already have a great start on these objectives, in that
my Chair-Elect is Tom Downey, who practices with David and for many years has worked with
and assisted David on numerous ESLR projects. Secondly, the heart and soul of any
Committee is its Newsletter Editor. Again, I have sought the assistance of a law firm that
for many years has been the backbone of ESLR. Our Newsletter Editor is Michael Knoerzer of
Werner & Kennedy in New York. I expect to work very closely with these two individuals
and any success that I enjoy during my term as Chair will be as a direct result of their
hard work.
Our program at the ABA Annual Meeting, "Excess, Surplus Lines, and Reinsurance: Tools
for the Alternative Market," co-sponsored by the Self Insurers and Risk Managers,
Public Regulation of Insurance Law, and Corporate Counsel committees, was a great success.
Many thanks to our moderators and the three panels of speakers. We also expanded our
audience by advertising the program in the RIMS, NAPSLO, and CPCU newsletters, resulting
in the attendance of several corporate risk managers. Our business meeting, which preceded
our program and featured Earl Davis of San Francisco Re, was well attended, sans me, who
was enjoying the Ritz-Carlton's lovely bathroom facilities thanks to catching the flu from
my daughter. A special heartfelt thank you to Jill Berkeley for covering for me while I
was indisposed. We started what I hope will become a tradition at the Annual Meeting which
was to hold a committee dinner open to all ESLR members. The dinner in San Francisco was
held at Palio D'Asti in conjunction with our co-sponsoring committees. Well over sixty
people attended and enjoyed good food, wine and friendship. I look forward to our dinner
in Toronto.
Our committee will have an opportunity to build on this momentum by participating in our
first MidWinter Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona from February 19-21, 1998 in conjunction
with the Insurance Coverage Litigation, Self Insurers and Risk Mangers, and Appellate
Advocacy Committees. We will be organizing the presentation on Bad Faith for the MidWinter
Meeting.
I am confident that the coming year will be a successful year for the ESLR Committee
because I have selected outstanding individuals from firms that are committed to ESLR and
to TIPS. Linda Lasley of Reinsurance Counsel will be in charge of our program at the ABA
Annual Meeting in Toronto. Linda is putting together a program on reinsurance and I am
sure she welcomes any assistance from our members. Cara Lee Macdonald of Edwards &
Angell will be in charge of our portion of the 1999 Annual Survey for the Tort &
Insurance Law Journal. Tom Downey will be in charge of our Spring Meeting in La Jolla,
California, to be held in conjunction with the Young Lawyers Section of the ABA. We expect
to hold at least two regional meetings, one in New York via Michael Knoerzer and one in
Chicago via David Anderson, focusing on the Attorney-Client Privilege.
The Committee's contribution to the 1998 Tort & Insurance Law Journal's Annual Survey
was co-authored by David Anderson of Schiff Hardin & Waite and Wesley Sunu of Tribler
Orpett Palmer & Crone, P.C., and was submitted to the editors during the first week of
September. The excess insurance portion of the article discussed recent decisions
regarding whether an excess insurer is entitled to a credit against the amount for which
it is liable to its insured for amounts paid by settling primary and excess insurers. The
surplus lines section reviewed a recent California appellate decision regarding whether
California's surplus lines statute provides admitted insurers with a private right of
action against surplus lines brokers who allegedly place risks in the non-admitted market
without diligently searching for an admitted insurer that will write the business. The
article also examined recent reinsurance decisions regarding insolvency issues, a
reinsurer's obligation to follow the settlements, and whether lost adjustment expenses are
included within the limits of liability. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank
David and Wes for their hard work and dedication in completing the 1998 Survey article.
My goal for the upcoming year is very simple. I want to increase our active membership. If
we do not have new members joining our Committee or if we do not get current members who
have not been active in the committee to become active, our committee will lose not only
its vitality, but its purpose in being within TIPS. To accomplish this goal, I intend to
focus on those firms that actively practice in this area of the law and who in the past
have supported members in ESLR, but who currently do not have anyone active within our
ranks. We need not only new members but members who have the support of their firms or
companies. I believe this goal fits extremely well into our Section Leadership's goal of
involving and working with the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA. Finally, I intend to
rely heavily on one of the committee's greatest untapped resources, its past chairpersons.
I want to utilize this resource to ensure that the present leadership continues the
committee's successes. I believe that the continued involvement of such past Chairs as
Larry Schiffer, Mike Cass, Dave Larson and others is critical to our future success.
I look forward to working with you in the upcoming year.
ABA ANNUAL MEETING
HELD IN SAN FRANCISCO
ESLR SPONSORS ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM ON ALTERNATIVE RISK TRANSFER
The 1997 ABA Annual Meeting was held in San
Francisco, California from July 31 through August 5, 1997. The ESLR Committee sponsored an
outstanding CLE program regarding the Alternative Risk Transfer Market. The program was
entitled: "Excess, Surplus Lines & Reinsurance: Tools for the Alternative
Market." Jill Berkeley of Schiff, Hardin & Waite, served as a moderator for the
first panel of speakers which provided both an introduction to the topic and some
forecasts for the future. This first group of speakers included Anne Flanagan of the
National Association of Insurance Brokers and David W. Rademaker of Swiss Re America.
The second panel, moderated by Jeff Rubin of International Insurance Company, discussed
the reinsurer's perspective regarding the ART market. This panel included Phillip Olsson
of Olsson, Frank & Weeda in Washington, D.C., Patricia Casey of American Re-Insurance
Company and Craig Watanabe of AIG Management Services, Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The third and final panel, moderated by past ESLR Committee Chair David O. Larson of
Larson & Burnham, addressed the excess and surplus line perspective. The speakers
included John N. Ellison of Anderson, Kill & Olick, Janet Klonehamer of Fireman's Fund
Insurance Company, and Michael McFadden of Genesis Underwriting Management Company. This
panel focused the discussion on a hypothetical scenario involving a large commercial risk
and a complex insurance program involving alternative risk components as well as surplus
line and reinsurance issues. The diversity of the speaker panelists and audience
participation made for a lively discussion.
The speakers and program planners also enjoyed an outstanding evening out in San Francisco
on the night before the program. Fine cuisine and good company were abundant. Hopefully,
we can continue this string of successful programs next year in Toronto.
ESLR HOLDS ANNUAL
BUSINESS MEETING
The ESLR Committee held its annual business
meeting in conjunction with the ABA's Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Out going Committee
Chair David Larson passed the torch to incoming Chair Kenneth Roberts.
Committee Chair Ken Roberts is in the process of finalizing the officer appointments and
sub-committee chair designations. Should any of you have an interest in becoming more
active in the committee or an interest in one of the sub-committees, please do not
hesitate to contact Ken.
The Committee business meeting concluded with guest speaker Earl Davis of the San
Francisco Reinsurance Company providing an overview of new developments in the reinsurance
industry. Mr. Davis' timely insights and good humor were very well received by the
committee members in attendance.
TORT AND
INSURANCE LAW JOURNAL
The ESLR Committee will be contributing to the
1998 Tort & Insurance Law Journal in the insurance industry. The ESLR Committee will
focus its contribution on new developments in excess, surplus lines and reinsurance.
Anyone who would like to work on this project as a "co-author" should contact
David Anderson of Shiff, Hardin & Waite - (312) 258-5594.
SURPLUS LINES LAW
ANNOTATIONS PROJECT COMPLETED
The ESLR Committee has recently completed the
Surplus Line Law Annotations project. The material has been submitted to the publisher for
final editing. The Committee anticipates the finished volumes will be available early next
year. Special thanks goes to Bob Ferm of Hall & Evans in Denver for guiding this
project through to completion.
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