Bermuda Forum Section Provision Does Not Apply to Insurance Policies that were Part of an Overall Rent-a-Captive Insurance Program
The liquidator of Legion Insurance Company and Villanova Insurance Company sued three companies to recover premiums owed for insurance provided in a rent-a-captive workers compensation insurance program. A defendant sought to move to dismiss based upon a Bermuda forum selection clause contained in a shareholder agreement it had entered into with an affiliate of the controlling shareholder of the insurance companies. The shareholder agreement was part of the overall rent-a-captive insurance program, and the insurance policies at issue were also part of that program. The district court held that the forum selection provision did not apply to the dispute over policy premiums for two reasons: (1) the forum provision was not part of the insurance policies, and hence the insurance companies were not bound by it; and (2) the forum clause, by its terms, applied only to disputes concerning the shareholder agreement, and hence did not cover disputes concerning the insurance policies. Rohrbaugh v. U.S. Management, Inc., Case No. 05-3486 (USDC E.D.N.Y. July 2, 2007).
