Legal

California insurers led by Mercury and State Farm lost a bid to have the US Supreme Court review a law that requires prior state approval for consumer insurance rate hikes as the Justices refused to take up the challenge today.

Hiscox has been cleared in a criminal prosecution brought against the carrier by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after the prosecution's key witness fell ill.

Insurers that provided $130mn of D&O cover to Patriot National could face total losses on the policies unless a US bankruptcy court forces mediation of covered legal claims and temporarily halts related litigation, according to recent court filings.

Lloyd's syndicates have settled its lawsuit with rap artist Kanye West over a disputed contingency claim, the website TMZ has reported.

Early Exin backers John Calamos and John Koudounis claim that Matt Fairfield’s insurance startup refused to produce required financial records when requested last year and have asked a county court in Chicago to force Exin to hand over an audit report in a lawsuit demanding $41.7mn.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has brought a legal case against Hiscox for allegedly breaching data protection laws in a landmark suit that could see the insurer hit with unlimited fines.

Exin CEO Matt Fairfield has vowed his firm will continue to pursue its planned EUR718mn ($889mn) buy-in to Greek insurer Ethniki, despite a $41mn lawsuit from its former cornerstone backer which has left the future funding of the start-up uncertain.

A ramping up of rhetoric from the local regulator, pending lawsuits and prospective legislation are combining to complicate the question of which firms will pay claims related to December's Californian mudslides.

One of the largest claims ever to hit the London political violence market has been settled for around $110mn, The Insurance Insider understands

Arch Insurance and US Specialty Insurance Company are seeking a judgment from the court of New Jersey to confirm they do not have to pay out for historic multi-million-dollar shareholder actions against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant is suing its insurers as it seeks to claw back more than $325mn in costs, as well as unspecified damages, arising from class actions following its attempted acquisition of drug firm Allergan.

MetLife and the US Financial Stability Oversight Council formally sought to end the big life insurer’s status as a systemically important financial institution yesterday, which would leave New Jersey’s Prudential Financial as the last insurer under Federal Reserve oversight as a Sifi.