Wes Strickland, a Shareholder, heads Colodny Fass’ Insurance Regulatory and Corporate Transactions practices.

With nearly two decades of experience with insurance regulatory law and complex corporate transactions, Mr. Strickland provides counsel to both domestic and international insurers and reinsurers, among others.

He represents property and casualty insurers, as well as life and health entities, self-insurance funds and others on a diverse scope of regulatory matters.

Mr. Strickland has supervised multi-state compliance surveys and licensing matters for insurance companies, third party administrators, managing general agents, wholesale brokers, reinsurance intermediaries, pharmacy benefits managers, insurance agencies, life settlement companies, as well as for manufacturers and sellers of service contracts and extended warranties. He routinely handles regulatory issues for insurers, including insurance holding company act compliance, market conduct and financial examinations, company formation, multi-state expansion, corporate amendments, investment limitations, credit for reinsurance analysis, and transactions with affiliates.

He has managed a wide variety of complex corporate and transactional matters for domestic and international insurers, holding companies and investors, including mergers and acquisitions, start-ups, stock offerings, restructurings, mutual holding company conversions, joint ventures and reinsurance transactions. He also prepares and negotiates a wide variety of contracts and agreements, including managing general agent agreements, third party administrator agreements, insurance agency and broker agreements, cost allocation agreements, IT vendor agreements, and joint insurance marketing and affinity marketing agreements.

An experienced practitioner of administrative law in Florida, Mr. Strickland has served as lead counsel and supervised numerous administrative actions before the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Florida Department of Financial Services and Division of Administrative Hearings involving rule challenges and hearings related to disputes over form and rate filings, and license disciplinary matters, including appeals of those actions.

He also has represented insurers and life settlement companies in trade secret litigation against the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, as well as in declaratory actions involving issues arising under the Florida Insurance Code.

A member of The Florida Bar, Mr. Strickland is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law and Florida State University.

Among his many representative matters, Mr. Strickland has:

  • Advised a Florida workers’ compensation group self-insurance fund in connection with the formation and licensure of a stock insurance subsidiary
  • Advised a multi-state property casualty insurer in connection with its redomestication to Florida and subsequent mutual insurance holding company reorganization under Florida law
  • Advised a Florida workers’ compensation group self-insurance fund in connection with its conversion to a mutual insurance holding company structure under Florida law
  • Advised numerous start-up homeowners’ insurance companies with formation and licensure in Florida
  • Assisted a risk retention group with approval of its registration in Florida
  • Provided ongoing counseling to an international health insurer in connection with compliance with Florida’s insurance holding company act
  • Represented investors in a multi-state auto insurer commercially domiciled in Florida in their efforts to obtain “Form A” approval of an acquisition
  • Advised a property casualty insurer on legal and regulatory compliance for joint insurance marketing transactions
  • Provided ongoing 50-state compliance research to a large pharmacy benefits manager on workers’ compensation fee schedules
  • Provided ongoing 50-state compliance research and licensure assistance to a leading HVAC manufacturer on its service warranty business
  • Advised a medical device distributer on regulatory issues arising from an affinity marketing relationship with a medical malpractice insurer
  • Advised a managing general underwriter on Florida insurance agency licensure compliance; subsequent multi-state compliance research
  • Advised a life settlement provider with ongoing regulatory compliance in Florida
  • Represented a life settlement trade organization in connection with a challenge to a proposed administrative rule implementing an annual reporting form in Florida
  • Acted as Florida local counsel in connection with “Form A” approval in a large HMO acquisition
  • Advised a Florida homeowners insurer in connection with a novel assumption reinsurance transaction involving a financially distressed insurer
  • Represented a workers’ compensation insurer in connection with an unadopted administrative rule challenge and related excess profits order
  • Represented a life settlement provider in Florida litigation involving protection of information marked as “trade secret” from public disclosure by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
  • Represented a leading life insurance company in ongoing compliance with Florida’s insurance agency law
  • Represented a leading orthotics and prosthetics provider in regard to licensure of a-third party administrator in Florida
  • Represented an investor group in connection with Florida “Form A” approval of a group of Florida-licensed warranty companies
  • Counseled numerous insurance holding companies on enterprise risk reporting and Form F compliance

 

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