Given the breadth of the duty to defend, liability insurers often must defend insureds against claims that do not ultimately trigger the duty to indemnify. In some states, an insurer can offer a defense under a reservation of...more
Last week Hurricane Laura became the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the state of Louisiana since 1856. The Category 4 storm claimed at least 10 lives and caused an estimated $4 to $7 billion in property...more
The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted events, supply chains, sales, and entire industries. As a result, businesses will likely look to their property insurers to recuperate lost business income, as well as...more
3/16/2020
/ Business Disruption ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Liability Insurance ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Public Health ,
Third-Party Liability
On December 18, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision that will impact insurance coverage for property damage claims, especially in Illinois. In W. Side Salvage, Inc. v. RSUI Indem. Co.,...more
Last week, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a decision that may have a significant impact on insurance coverage for progressive property damage claims in the state. In Air Master & Cooling, Inc. v. Selective Ins. Co....more
On July 18, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit adopted the New York Court of Appeals’ previous holding that the “all sums” provision in the insuring agreement permits an insured to access the limits of all...more
On June 6, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals changed the law in New York with respect to endorsements that limit additional insured coverage to liability that is “caused, in whole or in part by” the named insured’s acts or...more
On September 15, 2016, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department found that an additional insured endorsement provided additional insured coverage only to the entity in direct contractual privity with...more
May an insurer in New York delay asserting (or conceal, according to Estee Lauder) a late notice defense without waiving it? According to the New York Court of Appeals a jury should decide whether the insurer manifested a...more
On May 3, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals answered two certified questions posed by the Delaware Supreme Court regarding the appropriate allocation method for long-tail claims among successive excess carriers. The first...more
On July 31, 2014, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department chipped away at the privilege protections available to insurers. In National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania v. TransCanada...more
The New York Court of Appeals rarely hears reargument of its decisions, let alone reverses itself. On February 18, 2014, the Court of Appeals did just that....more
A recent shift in 2nd Circuit law may lead to a rise in class actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). See Bank v. Independence Energy Grp. LLC, 736 F.3d 660 (2d Cir. 2013). After a 2012 Supreme Court case...more
The New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest state court, recently held – in what appears to be a new position in New York – that an insurer that breached its duty to defend could not later rely on otherwise applicable...more
The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, recently held that an insurer that breached its duty to defend could not later rely on otherwise applicable exclusions to deny coverage for indemnification....more
Policyholders in New York and New Jersey presently have no private right of action against insurance companies for alleged violations of each state’s respective statutory claim handling guidelines – New York’s Unfair Claim...more