Having completed his education receiving a Political Science degree with honors from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, and his Juris Doctorate degree from Pace University School of Law in White Plains, New York, Mark Bennett was admitted to practice law in the state of Texas in November 1984. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association (Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section), the Austin Bar Association, and the International Association of Insurance Receivers. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Mr. Bennett is both a named and founding partner of the law firm CANTILO & BENNETT, L.L.P.
Mr. Bennett has extensive experience in the area of insurance receiverships and rehabilitations, and is also extensively well versed in other insurance business, regulatory, and complex litigation matters concerning insurance companies. Such experience includes the following for litigation matters: complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and recoveries against former insurance management, holding companies, reinsurers, brokers, and other third parties; oversight and handling of all other insurance policy claim litigation and defense matters for insurance company receiverships; reinsurance recoveries and disputes; federal claims; and alternative dispute resolution for contested matters.
Additional experience includes the following for non-litigation administration or insurance business matters: takeover and administration of insurance companies in receivership; insurance mergers and acquisitions; outsourcing of liabilities to third parties; assumption of liability transactions; third-party claims administration; conversion of insurance company businesses and affairs to virtual companies with no employees; records management for insurance companies for litigation management, streamline of database searches, and cyber security protection; investment oversight and fixed income security investment strategies; real estate and mortgage loan management and alternative investment transactions; tax matters; insurance regulatory matters; coordination and agreements with state insurance guaranty associations; court status reports for insurance receiverships; and development and implementation of rehabilitation, liquidation, early access, insurance policy and claim workouts, and receivership claim distribution plans.
Mr. Bennett has been an advisor for state insurance regulators in their role as receivers/rehabilitators for dozens of insurance companies covering the areas of property and casualty, life, title, long-term care, and managed healthcare insurance. His practice includes other areas involving insurance company administration and wind down, including third-party claim administrators, investment asset management, premium finance companies, managing general agencies, and information technology companies for storage and administration of insurance company data. Such representations have included the wind down or restructuring of the following insurance company types: stock insurers, mutual insurers, captives, risk retention groups, reciprocals, Lloyds, life insurers, managed care insurers, and title insurers. He has also served as the primary responsible Receiver and Special Deputy Receiver representative in multiple receiverships covering workers’ compensation, construction defects, medical malpractice, commercial auto trucking, managed care health insurance, and life and annuity insurers. And he has served numerous times as a lead investment committee member for insurance receivers for the oversight, management, investment guidelines, and turnaround of fixed income, private credit, mortgages, real estate, and alternative insurance company investments.
He has played a significant role in the development and implementation of numerous insurance company rehabilitations, reorganizations, and liquidations, including matters that have required extensive workout of litigation, claims, liabilities, contracts, assets, and reformation of insurance company operations. Some of the innovative transactions and accomplishments include work on the following troubled insurance companies: rehabilitation and restructuring of an insolvent life insurer that resulted in its release from receivership and return to the private sector; substantial recovery of assets for a property and casualty insurer that resulted in the full repayment of state insurance guaranty association claim liabilities and assumption of all liabilities by a third-party insurer; third-party assumption of all future liabilities of an insurance receivership for the un-triggering of all state insurance guaranty association payments; litigation and strategic work on complex asset litigation for substantial recovery companies in multiple receiverships, turning them from insolvent to solvent companies; implementation of tax strategies and recovery of assets for a home warranty corporation that changed the company’s fortunes from a substantial insolvency to solvency with full claim and equity distributions made to mutual members; investment strategies and investment restructurings of several insurance receivership investment portfolios that ultimately changed the companies’ financials from insolvency to solvency.
Mr. Bennett has also participated in various National Association of Insurance Commissioners committees regarding the Receiver’s Handbook, and has made substantial contributions to the claims chapter of that handbook. He is also a co-author of Insurer Insolvency for Appleman’s publications for the following leading topics on insurance company rehabilitations: § 100.01 Purposes of Rehabilitation and Distinguishing it From Other Proceedings, § 100.02 Grounds for Rehabilitation, § 100.03 Procedures for Commencement of Rehabilitation Proceedings, § 100.04 Powers and Duties of Rehabilitator, § 100.05 Challenging Rehabilitator’s Determination of Claims, § 100.06 The Rehabilitation Plan, § 100.07 Effects of Rehabilitation Efforts, § 100.08 Ending Rehabilitation, and § 100.09 Rehabilitation Proceedings Are Converted to Liquidation Proceedings in Certain Circumstances. He has presented on numerous topics for insurance company receivership matters covering asset recovery, receivership management, investments, insurance regulatory, reinsurance, claims, and complex litigation matters.
Current Areas of Practice
Insurance rehabilitation and liquidation of insolvent or troubled insurers, including the following areas: complex asset and professional recovery litigation; insurance claims litigation; federal claims; reinsurance claims and administration for various reinsurance transactions and contracts; third-party claim administrator oversight; mediation and alternative dispute resolution of insurance litigation matters; insurance regulatory; investment management oversight and strategies; reorganization, mergers, and acquisitions; disputes and reformation, and administration of insurer operations; development of rehabilitation/liquidation/early access/claims distributions plans; and general business law.
Transactions
Receivership and/or conservation engagements include, but are not limited to: Southeast Indemnity Company, International Fidelity Life Insurance Company, Mobile County Mutual Insurance Company, Best Lloyds Insurance Company, National County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, United Bankers Life Insurance Company, First Dominion Mutual Life Insurance Company, First United Life Insurance Company, Ideal Mutual Insurance Company, Integrity Insurance Company, Mission Insurance Company, Commodore County Mutual Insurance Company, Commodore Insurance Company, Commodore Life Insurance Company, Executive Life Insurance Company, Fidelity Bankers Life Insurance Company, Foundation Health Plan of New Jersey, How Insurance Company, Home Owners Warranty Corporation, MedCenters of North Dakota, Underwriters Life Insurance Co, Imerica Life and Health Insurance Company, Builders Insurance Company, Inc., Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company, American Network Insurance Company, Reciprocal of America, Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, Southern Title Insurance Company, Nevada Health CO-OP, Spirit Commercial Auto Risk Retention Group, Inc., Lancet Indemnity Risk Retention Group, Inc., Senior Health Insurance Plan of Pennsylvania, HBKY, LLC of Kentucky, and Weston Property and Casualty Insurance Company.
Representative Receivership Litigation Recovery Cases
1. Alfred W. Gross, Deputy Receiver of Reciprocal of America, In Receivership v. Employers Reinsurance Corporation, Civil Action No. 3:05cv308, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND DIVISION, 2005.
2. Great American Insurance Co., v. Alfred Gross, Civil Action No. 3:05CV159, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND DIVISION, 2013.
3. In re: Reciprocal of America (ROA) Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 1551, JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION 2015.
4. Companion Property & Casualty Insurance Company and Companion Commercial Insurance Company vs. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc. and Builders Insurance Company, Inc., et al., Case No. A-13-677372-C, Department XXXI and Case No. A-13-678046, Department XI, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2013.
5. Risk Services-Nevada, Inc. vs. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc. and Builders Insurance Company, Inc., et al., Case No. A-10-632220-B, Department No.: XIII, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2016.
6. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc. and Builders Insurance Company, Inc., by and through the Commissioner as Receiver, vs. Thomas Wheeler, et al., Case No. A-14-694938-C, Department No. XXVIII, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2016.
7. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc. vs. HR, LLC, RSR, Case No. A-14-701239-C, Department XXVII, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA 2018.
8. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc. and Builders Insurance Company, Inc. vs. Berkeley Insurance Company, Case No. A-13-678046-B, Department No. XI, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2018.
9. Berkeley Insurance Company vs. Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., Case No.: 2:16-cv-02564-RFB-CWH, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, DISTRICT OF NEVADA, 2018.
10. Commissioner of Insurance Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the Receiver for Nevada Health CO-OP vs. Milliman, Inc., et al., Case No. A-17-760558-C, Department No. 18, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2022.
11. Commissioner of Insurance Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the Receiver for Nevada Health CO-OP vs. Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, Case No. A-20-816161-C, Department No. 18, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 2021.
12. Commissioner of Insurance Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the Receiver for Nevada Health CO-OP vs. Wellhealth Medical Associates (Volker), PLLC dba Wellhealth Quality Care, et al., Case No. A-20-818118-C, Department No. 1, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, Current.
13. Commissioner of Insurance Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the Receiver for Nevada Health CO-OP vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services; Thomas E. Price, M.D., in his capacity as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; and the United States, Case No. 2:17-cv-00775-JCM-PAL, IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, DISTRICT OF NEVADA, 2018.
14. Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as Receiver of Nevada Health CO-OP vs. The United States. Case No. 18-1731c, IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS, Current.
15. Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the statutory Receiver for Spirit Commercial Auto Risk Retention Group, Inc. vs. Thomas Mulligan, et al., Case No. A-20-809963-C, Department No. XIII, DISTRICT COURT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, Current.
16. In re WellHeath Medical Associates, PLLC, Debtor Bankruptcy No. 24-11839, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, Current.
17. Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the statutory Receiver for Spirit Commercial Auto Risk Retention Group, Inc. vs. Criterion Claims Solutions of Omaha, Inc.—Arbitration, 2023.
18. Barbara D. Richardson, in her capacity as the statutory Receiver for Spirit Commercial Auto Risk Retention Group, Inc. vs. CTC Transportation Insurance Services of Missouri, LLC, a Missouri limited liability company, CTC Transportation Insurance Services, LLC, a California limited liability company, and CTC Transportation Insurance Services of Hawaii, LLC, a Hawaii limited liability company—Arbitration, Current.
19. HBKY, LLC vs. Kingdom Energy Resources, LLC, et al, Case No. 6:21-cv-00101-GFVT, United States District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, Southern Division at London, Current.
Publications
Co-author, NAIC Receiver's Handbook For Claims—1991;
Difficulties of SSAP No. 43R to an Insurance Receiver, The Insurance Receiver, A Publication by the International Association of Insurance Receivers, Spring 2010, Volume 19, Number 1;
Co-author, NAIC Receiver's Handbook For Claims, 2006;
Co-author, New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition, Chapter 100 (Jeffrey E. Thomas et al. eds., published 2013) (Rehabilitation of Insurers).
Co-author, New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition, Chapter 104 (Jeffrey E. Thomas et al. eds., published 2013) (Case Studies of Insurer Insolvencies).
Co-author, New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition, Chapter 97 (Jeffrey E. Thomas et al. eds., published 2015) (Insurer Insolvency).
Presentations and Lectures
Troubled Managed Care Organizations: Back to the Future!" (NAMCR), HMO Insolvency Seminar, 1999.
Reinsurance Considerations, Claims & Collections, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2005.
Reinsurance Disputes, Claims and Collections, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2007.
Subprime Mortgage Overview, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2008.
Investment Exposures of the Life and Property Casualty Insurance Industries, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2008.
Advanced Insurance Law Course, Impact on the Insurance Industry by the Financial Crisis, 2009.
Life Insurance Company Rehabilitations, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2010.
Troubled Mortgages & Restructurings, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2010.
Competitive, Regulatory & Business Risks in a Changing Reinsurance Market, Blackman Kallick Insurance Conference, 2013.
Life Insurer’s Assets - Traps and Pitfalls in the Quest for Yields, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2013.
CO-OP Receiverships-- National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2015.
Risk Retention Groups & Captives—Receivership Considerations, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2019.
Federal Issues and Receivable Collections, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2022.
A Regulator’s Perspective on Supervisions and Rehabilitations, International Association of Insurance Receivers, 2024.
Personal
Born in Yonkers, New York. Married to the former Sandra Ziu, and father of two sons, a resident physician, and a financial executive with a national fintech firm, and a daughter, a brand management executive with a national consumer products company.