“Over the years, insurers and their policyholders have grappled with the question of whether reinsurance information has any relevance to the issues raised in a coverage dispute to which the reinsurer is not a party. A number of recent decisions concerning the scope of discovery of reinsurance information demonstrate that this topic continues to have significance for insurers and policyholders alike.”

In her analysis of New Developments Regarding Limitations on Discovery of Reinsurance Information, Wiley Rein, LLP litigation partner, Sandra Tvarian Stevens, Esq., develops the premise that the circumstances under which an insurer shares information with its reinsurer during the course of a typical reinsurance relationship are different from situations in which a policyholder demands that reinsurance information be produced during discovery in a coverage dispute involving the policyholder and insurer.

The article explores the arguments for and against the production of reinsurance information in a coverage dispute and features an analysis of current and past decisions addressing this issue. In examining why courts have refused to order production in some cases, while allowing it in others, the article provides practical advice for insurers and reinsurers on topics such as:

• The Nature of the Reinsurance Relationship

• The Role of Utmost Good Faith

• The Purpose of Access to Records and Cooperation Clauses

• Policyholder and Underlying Claimants’ Demands for Discovery of Reinsurance Information

• Privilege and Work Product Considerations

The article concludes by reminding insurers and reinsurers that they may have available a number of arguments to seek to impose appropriate limitations on the discovery of reinsurance information.