JURY RETURNS DEFENSE VERDICT FOR AON RE, INC. IN SIX-YEAR BATTLE WITH RELIASTAR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Reliastar Life Insurance Company (“Reliastar”) sued Aon Re, Inc. (“Aon”) in state court, alleging, under various legal theories, that Aon misled Reliastar to believe that Reliastar continued to be reinsured through a reinsurance pool (“the Pool”), when in fact it had less coverage than it had been led to believe. Reliastar alleged that Aon, and an individual broker working with Aon, were Reliastar’s agents responsible for administering Reliastar’s reinsurance needs through the Pool, and fraudulently misrepresented the level and extent of reinsurance protecting Reliastar.
Aon’s defense was two-fold. First, it asserted that another broker exclusively handled Reliastar’s reinsurance placement, and thus Aon was not Reliastar’s agent relative to the conduct at issue in the suit, and thus Aon had no duty to ensure Reliastar had any particular reinsurance protection through the Pool. Second, Aon contended that Reliastar was an active participant in the administration of reinsurance through the Pool, and as such was fully aware that certain other Pool members had withdrawn from participation, leaving Reliastar with a greater share of the overall risk. After a lengthy trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Aon. Reliastar Life Insurance Company v. Aon Re, Inc., No. 3916-03 (N.J. Super. Ct. March 26, 2009). Details of the case are available in the Final Joint Pre-Trial Order.
This post written by John Pitblado.
