Tom Morante co-chairs the firm's Insurance Industry Team. His practice focuses on the intersection of insurance, securities, tax and corporate laws in an increasingly complex global regulatory framework that demands flexible solutions to regulatory challenges and rapid adoption of best practices.
Fluent in Spanish, he has also handled corporate finance and cross-border transactions in numerous foreign countries with emphasis on Latin America and offshore jurisdictions. He has also advised foreign governments in connection with insurance and financial services regulatory reform.
Regulatory Compliance. Mr. Morante counsels life insurers, property & casualty and other non-life insurers, health insurers, reinsurers, captive insurers, risk-retention groups, hedge funds, investment banks and financial intermediaries, including insurance agents in connection with their domestic and international regulatory, compliance and transactional needs.
Mr. Morante advises financial services companies both in the U.S. and abroad, on the following:
- insurance company formation and authorization
- producer and agency licensing
- product development, including variable life and annuity products
- distribution of insurance and investment products
- regulatory investigations, including administrative supervision
- formation of captive insurance companies
- reinsurance and fronting
Transactional Matters. Mr. Morante assists clients with respect to M&A transactions involving insurance companies. He has handled insurance company financings, insurance linked securities transactions, and the creation of insurance dedicated funds for use in funding the separate accounts of variable life and annuities policies. He also counsels investors, underwriters, funders and others on life settlement transactions.
International. Mr. Morante advises foreign insurers doing business in the U.S. on regulatory and transactional matters, and insurance companies and insurance distributors in connection with establishing operations in foreign countries. He also advises in connection with creation of offshore life insurance and annuities operations (with particular emphasis on Bermuda, Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man), and the foreign country laws implicated in sale of offshore products, with particular emphasis on Latin America.
He counsels clients on the financial services and insurance provisions of free trade agreements, including NAFTA and DR-CAFTA and the recently-adopted TPAs with Colombia and Panama. He serves on the Roster of U.S. Panelists selected by the NAFTA Secretariat, with respect to NAFTA Chapter 19 Dispute Settlement Panels. He also advises insurance clients on the USA Patriot Act and foreign country laws regulating money laundering, and in connection with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations and OFAC Foreign Assets Control Regulations.
Financial Regulatory Reform. Mr. Morante counsels clients on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank), with respect to the Federal Insurance Office, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and resolution authority for companies that pose systemic risk.
Health Law. In connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Mr. Morante is advising clients with respect to Health Benefit Insurance Exchanges and the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program. He also advises global health insurers on product design and compliant distribution methodologies.
Activities. Mr. Morante is a member of the Thomson Reuters Governance, Risk and Compliance Partner Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of the American University Washington College of Law, and serves on the Board of Advisors of Inter-American Dialogue's Latin American Advisor - Financial Services biweekly publication. He is the South Florida regional coordinator for The Export Legal Assistance Network (ELAN), a cooperative program of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration.