Life & Health Insurance

JORDEN BURT is one of only a small number of law firms with substantial experience and expertise in providing comprehensive counseling and litigation services to life and health insurance company clients in connection with their life, annuity, pension, health care, and mutual funds operations. Our lawyers act as regular outside counsel for dozens of life and health insurance companies on a full range of matters in this area including product development and marketing, federal and state regulatory compliance, and litigation. Our counseling and litigation practices are integrated and complementary. As a result of having litigated literally hundreds of cases in recent years concerning life and health insurance company products, our lawyers bring a litigator's perspective to our counseling work, enabling our clients to take effective steps in the development and marketing of their products to minimize litigation risks and to effectively evaluate such risks in making business decisions. In turn, our ability to effectively represent our clients' interests in dispute resolution and litigation is materially enhanced by extensive familiarity with our clients' products, business practices, and objectives, which has been gained through active involvement for more than 30 years with the significant legal and regulatory issues.

The depth and range of experience of the lawyers in our Life & Health Insurance Industry Group distinguishes us from other firms. Led by the Firm's managing partner who has counseled and litigated in this area for three decades, the senior lawyers in this industry group consist of over a dozen litigation, securities, ERISA, and tax partners, each of whom is a recognized authority in the insurance industry. These lawyers include a former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Insurance Products Office, a former principal technical adviser to the Office of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and a former senior officer of Aetna's law department who chaired the American Council of Life Insurers' ERISA Fiduciary Task Force. Besides their regular practices, our lawyers frequently lecture and write in their areas of expertise and three of our partners have co-authored the Handbook on ERISA Litigation published by Aspen Law & Business. We also are contributing authors to the treatise, Managed Care Litigation, published by BNA books. Our lawyers also are involved, often in leadership roles, in many pertinent bar and trade association activities.

The best measure of a law firm's ability is the results that it achieves for its clients. Over the years, JORDEN BURT has had an outstanding record of working with our clients to pioneer new products, resolve complex regulatory issues, and to develop and carry out effective strategies for successful dispute and litigation outcomes. The Firm is proud that our clients regard us as an important part of their business team.

AREAS OF LITIGATION EXPERTISE

• Life and Health Complex Litigation- We have represented over two dozen insurers and managed care companies in a wide variety of disputes involving life and health insurance products and business practices. Our representation has included defending over 100 nationwide and state class actions involving insurance sales practices and market conduct, including vanishing premium and churning claims, private pension plan sales schemes, and modal, gap, and state tax premium claims, as well as managed care multidistrict litigation class actions.

• Annuity Litigation- JORDEN BURT is the leading law firm in the U.S. with respect to litigation involving annuity products, having pioneered the removal of variable product litigation to federal court under SLUSA, and achieving the first successful federal appellate level reversal of an annuity class action under Rule 23(f).

• Agent and Employment Litigation-- We have represented insurers in a variety of agent misconduct matters, including alleged sales misrepresentations, forgery, and tortious interference claims against competitors for hiring away agents. Our lawyers also have litigated agent termination cases, and have defended companies in breach of contract, tort, and discrimination suits brought by agents and employees.

• CGL- In the comprehensive general liability policy area, the firm has represented insurers on a variety of commercial and business claims. We have litigated and counseled on such issues as the obligations of the insurer and the insured under general property and "business interruption" clauses; the duty to defend; occurrence-based coverage; and bad faith.

• ERISA Fiduciary Liability- We have served as chief litigation counsel for insurers in defending ERISA fiduciary liability (individual and class) claims nationally in connection with their pension and health benefits products. We have also represented professionals in defense of fiduciary liability claims. Three of our partners have authored the Handbook on ERISA Litigation, published by Aspen Law & Business.

• Excess - We have litigated the duties of an excess insurance carrier when the underlying primary insurer becomes insolvent; the interpretation of "other insurance" clauses; and apportionment issues.

• Credit Insurance - We are the leading law firm nationally with respect to the defense of credit insurers and have litigated hundreds of class actions and individual cases across the country involving all types of credit insurance, including credit life, disability, unemployment, credit property, and other types of financial guaranty products.

• Professional Liability- We have significant experience litigating liability claims involving the conduct of lawyers, accountants, insurance agents/brokers, intermediaries, MGAs, third-party administrators, and actuaries. The substantive claims with which we are familiar run the gamut from simple malpractice/negligence to common law, securities and RICO Act fraud, and ERISA and common law fiduciary liability. In malpractice cases we have served as both defense counsel and coverage counsel.

• Reinsurance- We have represented a number of ceding insurers and the manager of a reinsurance pool in connection with reinsurer disputes over claims arising from Hurricane Andrew-related property losses. Those claims exceeded $50 million and involved both litigation and arbitration in multiple forums. We also have arbitration and litigation experience from the perspective of reinsurers disputing claims and contracts, as well as experience with handling problems arising from the aftermath of unfaithful managing general agents.

• State Insurance Guranty Funds- We represented 16 state guaranty funds in litigation in federal court in California relating to claims by holders of over $200 million in guaranteed investment contracts against the guaranty funds for alleged breaches of ERISA fiduciary duties in connection with the Rehabilitation Plan for Executive Life approved by the California state courts.

• D & O and Related Coverages- We have successfully litigated a variety of claims involving directors' and officers' liability and fidelity bonds. We have a particular expertise in litigating securities law claims in this area. We have also handled coverage issues.

• Environmental CGL - We have represented CGL insurers in claims for environmental spills and contamination. These suits have involved the interpretation of both the "sudden and accidental" and "absolute" pollution exclusions found in many CGL policies, the duty to defend CERCLA claims, and myriad other coverage issues that frequently arise in environmental coverage litigation.

OUR SERVICES

The Life & Health Insurance Industry Group offers a full range of services including:

• Litigating health benefit claims and the ERISA issues integral to employee welfare benefit plans
• Class action certification claims in connection with sales, marketing, and product administration
• Trials in federal (including bankruptcy) and all state courts, at all levels, across the country, and appeals at all levels, including the U.S. Supreme Court
• Defense of managed care insurers against claims by plan sponsors for a host of Federal and state law claims, including fiduciary breach
• Defense of claims by employee benefit plan sponsors and employers against issuers of investment and insurance products
• Design, registration, and regulation of variable and fixed products
• Parallel criminal and civil regulatory proceedings
• Internal investigations, assessments, regulatory review, and litigation risk analyses
• Counsel and advise on compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations
• Advise clients with respect to delegation of AML compliance responsibilities and prepare related agreements
• Counsel and advise on compliance with OFAC regulations and currency transaction reporting requirements
• Advise clients with respect to AML and OFAC compliance risks related to business acquisitions