Insights

Washington, D.C. – July 17, 2023: Crowell & Moring hosted its 24thannual George Bailey Public Service Awards ceremony. Named after the hero of the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” these awards recognize the firm’s lawyers and staff who have made a substantial impact on the lives of others.

Washington, D.C. – April 25, 2022: Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked Kentucky officials from enforcing a new law that effectively bans abortions in the state from taking effect. A Crowell & Moring legal team represented Planned Parenthood. 

Washington – July 21, 2021: Miranda H. Turner, a seasoned insurance litigator with federal and state-level experience, has joined Crowell & Moring’s Insurance/Reinsurance Group in Washington, D.C.

The NAIC has adopted a new Climate Risk Disclosure Survey (“CRDS”) as a means to modernize climate-related disclosure requirements and enhance transparency of how insurers manage their climate-related risks. The new NAIC survey is aligned with the international standard of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).

In late 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act, which imposes affirmative insurance disclosure requirements on parties to civil actions. The Governor’s signature came with an approval memorandum stating that the information required to be disclosed must be “properly tailored for the intended purpose, which is to ensure that parties in a litigation are correctly informed about the limits of potential insurance coverage.” 

On January 25th, 2022, California Assembly member, Marc Levine, introduced AB-1694, a bill that would require insurance companies to disclose details of all investments made in fossil fuel-related entities and all insurance provided for fossil fuel-related companies and projects. The bill directs the California Department of Insurance to publish these disclosures on its website and would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to take regulatory action to prohibit or restrict investments and insurance for fossil fuel-related companies and projects. The last aspect is the most controversial portion of the newly proposed California legislation.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are being elevated in corporate, corporate stakeholder, and regulator discourse as never before. Many companies are experiencing ESG pressures for the first time, and indeed they may seem new to entire industries. However, ESG has become an essential institutional investor criteria and will increasingly need to be integrated into the supply and value chains of public and private corporations as financial and other regulators catch up.