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Our Services
At Baker Donelson, we have in-depth experience with all types of regulatory and legal issues faced by the insurance industry. We are well-versed in all lines and areas of insurance including property and casualty, life and annuities, health, commercial, reinsurance, workers' compensation, professional liability, disability, title, credit, surplus lines, premium financing and residual markets. We understand federal oversight of this industry including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Administrative Actions, Mediations and Litigation: Members of our Group have helped a wide variety of insurance companies and other industry interests navigate through the often challenging and sometimes confusing administrative and legal process.
We have conducted administrative hearings and mediations; defended against state regulatory actions; worked on guaranty fund disputes and litigation; and overseen class action litigation related to non-original manufacturers equipment, premium insurance taxes, provider discounts, and race-based premiums.
Expert Testimony and Consultation: Four members of our Group have more than 60 combined years of experience in considering and deciding complex regulatory matters while serving in senior positions within state insurance departments, giving them an in-depth understanding and special credibility when providing expert testimony and advice within their respective areas of expertise.
Fraud and White Collar Crime: Given our involvement with the Martin Frankel case, among others, we understand the regulator’s duty to investigative and the government’s authority and discretion to prosecute.
We have coordinated both state and federal criminal investigations and have assisted in the prosecution of cases related to misappropriation, forgery, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and other white collar crimes. We have prosecuted or defended against civil penalties, restitution claims and asset recoveries. We have also represented clients appearing as witnesses before both federal and state grand jury proceedings.
Industry and Trade Association Support: As industry insiders, we have a unique perspective and connection with insurance industry organizations and trade associations.
We routinely attend the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meetings and are familiar with the structure and the players involved. We are members of the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals (AICP), the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES), the IRES Foundation and the International Association of Insolvency Regulators (IAIR). We routinely participate in the SouthEastern Regulators Association (SERA) and coordinate with other trade associations on various insurance matters. Because of this, we are able to provide our clients with the insider-knowledge and support that our clients need to accomplish their goals.
Insolvency Matters and Asset Recoveries: Our attorneys have represented both insurance departments and companies in insolvencies and have consistently achieved favorable results.
We have worked on large, complicated insolvencies involving single and multi-jurisdictional licenses. We have placed companies in administrative supervision and liquidation and have aggressively pursued related asset recovery efforts.
Licensing and Compliance: Given our strong regulatory background, we are uniquely qualified in all aspects of compliance and have hands-on experience with single and multi-state market conduct and financial examinations.
Differences in state licensure laws can pose a major problem for any company or entity seeking to do business in a particular state or simultaneously in multiple states. We have special insight in this complicated field thought our work with the NAIC, departments of insurance and insurance companies, along with our work in the legislative process.
Our attorneys have been actively involved for many years in the licensing process of producers, agencies, third party administrators and managing general agents. That experience and familiarity with numerous state insurance regulators gives us the ability to handle multi-state licensing projects on an efficient and cost-effective basis.
Because we understand the compliance world from the inside out, we are able to provide our clients with the tools necessary to achieve the most favorable results. We are intimately familiar with market analysis and market conduct techniques dictated by the NAIC and implemented by the states. We have conducted or defended against audits related to prompt pay, disaster-related claims handling, credit scoring and unfair claims settlement practices, to name a few.
We know how to establish sound corporate governance programs and company best practices; conduct self-audits and reviews; draft, coordinate and implement product development and policy form filings; handle rate filings; and resolve other rating issues including retooling policy language due to judicial, regulatory or legislative mandates.
From the financial standpoint, examinations occur either by law through regularly scheduled exams or through special 'for-cause' exams. We have represented both insurance departments and insurers in these situations. And we have successfully collaborated as needed with third parties, such as consulting actuaries, independent auditors and certified public accountants.
This comprehensive background enables us to resolve licensure, market and financial issues in a prompt manner without the need for protracted hearings or litigation. We know the most effective and efficient way to implement any change without creating additional legal or regulatory issues.
Lobbying and Public Policy Initiatives: We monitor, promote or work against legislation on a single and multi-state basis, and draft legislation on behalf of our clients. We advocate for or against specific administrative actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations. We develop and execute public advocacy campaigns at the request of our clients. We also testify before state administrative and legislative bodies and before the United States Congress.
Organizational and Transactional Matters: Our attorneys have represented clients in routine and complex organizational and transactional matters from the formation of insurance companies to reorganizations to dissolutions and everything in between.
We have formed insurers, reinsurers and captive companies and have obtained the necessary Certificates of Authority to operate these entities. We also have handled the creation, expansion and liquidation of holding company systems and other reorganizations and corporate restructurings including mutualizations, demutualizations and redomestications.
On the transactional side, we have been involved with all types of mergers and acquisitions including multi-state and cross-entity statutory mergers, share exchanges, recapitalizations and asset acquisitions. These transactions, when undertaken by insurance companies, must be structured and implemented within the governing regulatory framework and with careful attention to insurance-specific issues.
We handle private and public securities offerings, stock splits and reverse stock splits. And we have experience with a wide variety of reinsurance matters, both assumption and proportional and excess indemnity, and have handled other transactional matters such as divestitures and liquidations.
Privacy, Data Security and Document Management: Given our involvement with public sector entities, we are well-versed in all forms of privacy, data security and document management issues.
Our attorneys know privacy laws including GLB, HIPAA, ARRA and other federal and state requirements. We have firsthand experience in responding to those unfortunate incidents involving a privacy breach and have successfully minimized the potential harm to all parties.
We can assist our clients in developing, testing and monitoring a seamless, privacy-based data security system. We have an in-depth understanding of information technology requirements not only from a legal perspective, but from a systems perspective as well.
We have responded to numerous public records requests and shaped the laws affecting this area. We successfully fought to preserve the confidentiality of records in market conduct and financial examinations.
Finally, our Group routinely handles electronic discovery and document production requests and subpoenas, including those in connection with state and federal criminal proceedings.
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