Insurance

This survey year, from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, brought significant developments to a broad array of insurance fields. Both the Georgia Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a cancellation notice for nonpayment of a premium can also contain an offer to reinstate upon payment in the "grace" period. The supreme court has strictly enforced basic concepts of "offer and acceptance" in the context of time-limit policy demands containing less than complete release and indemnity terms, thereby appearing to put insurers in "catch 22" situations with their insureds. A "safe harbor" is getting more difficult to find.

An oral reservation of rights can be valid, but an insurer's failure to sufficiently reserve its rights, while undertaking the insured's, waives those rights. Complex preemption issues were addressed in various courts, perhaps heralding more to come from recent attempts to federalize health insurance.