Each state has a limited number of firms that represent participants in the insurance industry in regulatory and business matters. In Michigan (and throughout the country), Foster Swift has represented insurers in this practice area since the 1930s.
Our insurance industry clients are large and small, domestic and foreign. They include property and casualty insurers (both admitted and surplus line carriers), life insurers, reinsurers, accident and health insurers, HMOs, group self-insurance pools, managing general agents, retail agents and third-party administrators. These clients choose Foster Swift because our attorneys have many years of varied experience in representing these clients both in private practice and as in-house counsel.
Foster Swift has been named a Tier 1 firm in Insurance Law in Grand Rapids and Lansing by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" in 2014, 2017-2019 and 2024.
Highlights
- Advised insurers on corporate governance matters.
- Represented a mutual insurer in a conversion to a stock insurer and the initial public offering for the insurer's holding company.
- Advised a mutual insurer in a conversion to a stock insurer and the formation of an insurance mutual holding company system.
- Represented a mutual insurer in a merger with another mutual insurer.
- Represents insurers on administrative matters before insurance regulators involving business practices, market conduct, financial audit and other matters.
- Assisted insurers with agency relationship matters.
- In a matter in front of the Michigan insurance bureau, successfully represented a crop insurance agency partly owned by a farm cooperative that was facing claims of rebating brought by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, resulting in a finding that no rebating had occurred.
- Represented large insurance group before the Michigan insurance bureau to obtain a quick approval of an ownership restructuring made necessary by its parent's financial issues, preserving the insurers' ratings.
- Represented mutual insurer in merger with mutual holding company and resultant acquisition of the holding company's subsidiary, believed to be the first such acquisition closed.
- Represented management in a successful management buyout of a group of insurers from its parent and controlling creditors.
- Assisted insurers with change of control matters, including Michigan insurance bureau issues.
- Represented both insurers and creditors on various insolvency and receivership matters.
Recent Blog Posts
Publications & Alerts
- Are There Any Liability Defenses to Premises Liability Claims, OR Should Possessors of Land Simply Prepare to Write Settlement Checks?, State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Negligence Law Section Journal, March 7, 2024
- Michigan Court of Appeals Ruling Adds Challenges for Premises Owners and Their Insurers as to Premises Liability Cases, Insurance Regulatory News E-blast, January 22, 2024
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Seismic Shift in Premises Liability Cases, Insurance Regulatory News E-blast, August 2, 2023
- Autonomous Vehicles: Who Should be Liable for Accidents Involving Them?, State Bar of Michigan - The Journal of Insurance and Indemnity Law, July 25, 2021
- A Practical Approach to Preserving and Asserting No-Fault Fraud Defenses in the Wake of Haydaw, Fortson and Glasker-Davis, State Bar of Michigan (SBM): The Journal of Insurance and Indemnity Law, September 2, 2020
- What the New Michigan No-Fault Laws Mean for Employees Injured in Accidents while Occupying an Employer-Owned Vehicle, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, June 3, 2020
Events
- When Your Insureds Host Events On or Off Their Property - Specialized Risk Management, IRMI AgriCon Central Conference, September 11, 2024
- Liabilities When Horses or Livestock are Injured in the Care of Your Insureds, IRMI AgriCon Central Conference, September 10, 2024
- Equine Activity Liability Acts/Farm Animal Activity Liability Acts and Risk Management, Including Enforceability of Waivers, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies' (NAMIC) 2024 Agricultural Risk Inspection School, June 13, 2024
- Michigan's Changed Premises Liability Laws Pose Real Threat to Business and Property Owners, Second Wednesday Sessions, May 8, 2024
- Equine Liability Waivers: How They Work and Whether Yours Needs an Overhaul, PATH International Regional Conference, May 4, 2024
- Equine Lease Disputes and How to Avoid Them, 38th National Conference on Equine Law, May 2, 2024
- Hosting Events Off-Premises: Risk Management and Coverage Issues, IRMI Emmett J. Vaughan Agribusiness Conference, March 13, 2024
News
- Assad Elected to SBM Governing Council, Grand Rapids Legal News, October 2, 2024
- Five Attorneys Named Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" 2025, Best Lawyers in America, August 15, 2024
- Foster Swift Attorneys Named 2025 Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in America, August 15, 2024
- Preparing Women Business Leaders for 2024 Legal Challenges, Meltwater Newswire, February 20, 2024
- Foster Swift Welcomes Assad to Grand Rapids Office, Grand Rapids Legal News, February 5, 2024
- Foster Swift Listed in "Best Law Firms" 2024, Best Lawyers in America, November 2, 2023
- Litigation Attorney Romano Joins Foster Swift in Southfield, November 2, 2023