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TODAY'S TOP DEVELOPMENTS Tuesday, October 27, 2015   Industry news, expert analysis, and daily updates on the most significant insurance coverage legal developments—from the insurance and legal experts of The National Underwriter Company.  CASE LAW Automobile Insurance Fifth Circuit: Insurer Had No Duty to Make Settlement Offer Absent Settlement Offer by Third-Party Claimant The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, affirming a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, has ruled that, under applicable Mississippi law, an insurer did not have a duty to timely offer to settle a third-party claim in which the claim amount greatly exceeded the policy limits in the absence of a settlement offer by the third-party claimant. Read More Homeowners Insurance Exclusion Barred Coverage for Damage Allegedly Caused by Toxic Substances in Flood Waters, Appeals Court Rules in Superstorm Sandy Case An appellate court in New Jersey, affirming a trial court's decision in a Superstorm Sandy case, has ruled that property loss caused by flood damage for purposes of a flood exclusion in a homeowners insurance policy included "not only the damage caused by the water," but also "the damage caused by the toxic substances carried by the flood waters and left behind after that water recede[d]." Read More Life Insurance Posner on Stranger-Originated Life Insurance The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in a decision written by Judge Richard A. Posner, has affirmed a $726,000 award in favor of an insurance company — that included its attorneys' fees — in a case involving the insurer's challenge to so-called "stranger-originated life insurance." Read More Environmental Liability Same Phrase Appearing Twice in One Policy Should Be Interpreted the Same Way, Second Circuit Declares The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, affirming a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, has ruled that a phrase in an exception to an exclusion had to be interpreted the same way when it appeared in an endorsement that applied a sublimit to the exception. Read More View All Case Law Developments    LEGISLATIVE/REGULATORY Superstorm Sandy FEMA Paid $250 Million in Duplicate Benefits to Superstorm Sandy Applicants, Report Says The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General has issued an audit report that found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid approximately $250 million in disaster assistance to more than 29,000 Superstorm Sandy applicants who may have received duplicate benefits from their private insurers. Read More Health Insurance Revamped Obamacare Website Is Up and Running for 2016 The HealthCare.gov website for the Affordable Care Act now is operating to permit individuals to determine how much insurance coverage will cost on the federal exchange used by 38 states when enrollment for 2016 plans begins on November 1. Read More View All Legislative/Regulatory Developments      INDUSTRY NEWS Autonomous Vehicles Could Shrink U.S. Personal Auto Insurance Sector by 60 Percent, KPMG Report Says  Read More New Hands-Free Technologies Pose Hidden Dangers for Drivers, Report Says  Read More Erie Insurance President and CEO Terry Cavanaugh to Retire  Read More Centene's Shareholders Approve $6.8 Billion Merger with Health Net  Read More In One Chart: Every Billion-Dollar U.S. Weather Disaster Since 1980  Read More View All Industry News   Forms Analysis MSO Mandatory Endorsements Fracking Exclusions Browse our entire library of over 2,500 insurance resources and forms.    INSURANCE COVERAGE  LAW REPORT View Entire Septmeber/October Insurance Coverage Law Report   View Insurance Coverage Law Report Archives   Steven A. Meyerowitz, ESQ. Director, FC&S Legal smeyerowitz@alm.com Victoria Prussen Spears, ESQ. Associate Director, FC&S Legal vspears@alm.com FC&S Legal Editorial Advisory Board Mitchell J. Auslander, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Carrie Cope, Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, P.C. Anjali C. Das, Wilson Elser John F. Finnegan, Chadbourne & Parke LLP Michele L. Jacobson, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP Timothy P. Law, Reed Smith LLP Cort T. Malone, Anderson Kill, P.C. Richard D. Milone, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Joseph P. Monteleone, Rivkin Radler LLP Anne M. Murray, Rivkin Radler LLP Jerold Oshinsky, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP Seth B. Schafler, Proskauer Rose LLP Thomas F. Segalla, Goldberg Segalla David D. Thamann, The National Underwriter Company FC&S Daily Legal Report ($1,295 annual subscription) is included as part of your subscription to FC&S Legal: The Insurance Information Center. FC&S Daily Legal Report and The Insurance Coverage Law Report are publications of The National Underwriter Company. For more information, visit www.fcandslegal.com. To subscribe to FC&S Legal, please contact customer service at 1-800-543-0874 or customerservice@nuco.com. FC&S Legal: The Insurance Coverage Law Information Center    LinkedIn   To ensure future delivery of email, please add admin@list.nationalunderwriter.com to your address book, contacts or safe sender list. You have received this email at %%merge members_.emailaddr_%%. Click here to unsubscribe from %%merge list.descshort%%. Copyright ©2015 The National Underwriter Company, A Division of ALM Media LLC. All rights reserved. 4157 Olympic Blvd., Suite 225 Erlanger, KY 41018 1-800-543-0874