Property
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October 17, 2025
Broker Not Covered In Fire Policy Dispute, Insurer Says
An insurance broker accused of mishandling a furniture retailer's insurance procurement, which left the retailer without coverage for a fire, is not entitled to defense or indemnity under its professional liability policy, the broker's insurer told a California federal court.
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October 16, 2025
Insurers Settle Bid To Arbitrate $7M La. Hurricane Ida Case
A group of domestic and foreign insurers including underwriters at Lloyd's of London have asked a Louisiana federal judge to dismiss their lawsuit seeking an order to arbitrate a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim, saying they have settled the dispute.
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October 16, 2025
Travelers Seeks Over $1M In Camera Theft Subrogation Suit
Travelers is seeking to recoup around $1 million in costs from a shipping logistics company that it says failed to verify to whom it was providing a shipment of cameras, resulting in their theft, according to a complaint filed in California federal court.
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October 16, 2025
Chubb Unit Challenges Tech CEO's Claim For Living Expenses
A Chubb unit urged a California federal court to rule that it needn't pay a software company CEO and his wife millions of dollars for living expenses related to a 2017 water damage claim, saying the couple made misrepresentations regarding the habitability of their Beverly Hills estate.
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October 16, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Illinois' insurance regulator demanded that State Farm turn over data over its homeowners insurance business, the Sixth Circuit affirmed class certification in a dispute over State Farm's payments for totaled vehicles, and the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a policyholder's untimely notice doomed coverage for a gas station's underground fuel tank leak. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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October 16, 2025
AIG Unit, Manufacturers Agree To End $7M Subrogation Suit
An AIG unit and three manufacturing companies have agreed to end a $7 million suit in which the insurer sought to recoup costs connected to a fire at an iron processing plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to a motion filed in federal court.
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October 16, 2025
Hospital Insurer Seeks Ch. 15 After NY Child Abuse Claims
Northeast Insurance Co., a captive insurer for several hospitals and a Jewish nonprofit, asked a New York bankruptcy judge for Chapter 15 recognition of its Bermuda liquidation filing, saying it was rendered insolvent by claims stemming from the state's Child Victims Act.
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October 15, 2025
States Seek To Revive FEMA's Disaster-Mitigation Funding
A group of 22 states and the District of Columbia urged a Massachusetts federal court Wednesday to block the Trump administration's termination of a disaster mitigation program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing such authority lies with Congress.
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October 14, 2025
State Farm Must Submit Underwriting Data, Ill. Regulator Says
Illinois' director of insurance accused State Farm of failing to turn over nationwide data at a zip-code level relating to its homeowners insurance business, telling a state court that the insurance giant has relied on two "legally baseless objections" to avoid its data-sharing obligations.
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October 14, 2025
Liberty Mutual Unit Says Hotel Co.'s Storm Suit Must Be Axed
A hotel group's suit seeking $12.5 million for business interruption losses stemming from Hurricane Helene should be tossed, a Liberty Mutual unit told a North Carolina federal court, saying it already filed suit first in Georgia federal court.
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October 14, 2025
Federal Insurance Filings Dip Following Peak In 2022
Insurance litigation in federal district courts has been trending downward over the past two years, following a period of record high filings because of COVID-19 and a series of extremely destructive storms, according to a report by Lex Machina.
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October 10, 2025
State Farm Needn't Cover Dry Cleaner In Pollution Row
The property owner of a dry cleaner isn't owed coverage for an investigation and remediation demand conducted by a state environmental protection agency, a New Mexico federal judge ruled, finding that an absolute pollution exclusion barred indemnification and defense obligations.
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October 10, 2025
6th Circ. Affirms Class Status In Totaled Car Payout Dispute
A panel of Sixth Circuit judges upheld the class certification of a suit alleging State Farm systematically undervalues totaled vehicles, saying that a class of Tennessee insureds were linked by a common alleged harm of breach of contract.
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October 09, 2025
AIG Says Dock Builder Can't Avoid $1.8M Yacht Fire Lawsuit
An AIG unit urged a Florida federal court Thursday to reject a contractor's claims it can't be held liable for more than $1.8 million in coverage payments over a yacht fire caused by dock wiring that lacked ground fault protection, arguing the state building code required such protection.
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October 09, 2025
Drones May Boost Claim-Handling Efficiency, Carrier Pros Say
As insurance carriers evaluate ways to utilize new technologies in their claims and underwriting processes, the use of drones and aerial imagery has emerged as an opportunity to improve response times and efficiency, specifically in connection with natural disasters, insurer-side experts say.
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October 09, 2025
FinCEN Extends Residential Real Estate Targeting Orders
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced Oct. 9 that it has renewed directives requiring title insurance companies to identify the people behind shell companies in non-financed, residential property deals in over a dozen states.
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October 09, 2025
Judge Rejects Sanctions Bid In Ace Fire Loss Suit
A Georgia federal court has rejected a Chubb unit's sanctions bid in a fire loss coverage dispute, finding that although its insureds failed to adequately join two individual defendants in a broader attempt to defeat the court's diversity jurisdiction, such conduct wasn't frivolous nor amounted to bad faith.
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October 09, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A South Carolina school district can't get review of its insurance arbitration dispute, an insurer had a duty to defend a home renovation company in an underlying car crash suit and a State Farm unit needn't pay a $2.5 million assault judgment. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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October 08, 2025
Wash. Condo Owner Seeks $8.1M In Water Damage Coverage
A condominium association said its insurer must provide coverage for more than $8.1 million in hidden water damage, telling a Washington federal court the insurer failed to acknowledge that weather conditions such as rain and wind-driven rain contributed to the damage and are covered under its policies.
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October 07, 2025
No Coverage For Smoke Shop Over Fatal Crash, Insurer Says
A smoke shop's insurer told a North Carolina state appeals court the shop shouldn't receive coverage for a lawsuit alleging it's liable for a fatal auto collision because it sold nitrous oxide products to the at-fault driver, arguing its policy covered bodily injury only on the shop's premises.
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October 07, 2025
Fla. High Court Told Law Bars Insurer Suit Against Condo
A condominium association told the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday that an insurer can't sue for damages to an owner's unit, arguing a 2021 state law that went into effect provided immunity from a negligence lawsuit stemming from a policy claim brought afterward.
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October 07, 2025
Title Insurer Fights Mortgage Lender's Fraud Claim
A title insurer has no duty to pay a mortgage lender's claim over a $510,000 loan a borrower alleged was fraudulent, it told a North Carolina federal court, saying its closing protection letter explicitly excludes coverage for third-party fraud and that no policy was ever issued.
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October 02, 2025
Canada Flood Insurer Should Help Lower High Risks, Pros Say
Ongoing efforts in Canada to develop a national flood insurance program should prioritize coverage for high-risk properties and accompany endeavors to lower flood risk in a country that is experiencing more destruction from natural catastrophes, experts say.
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October 02, 2025
Special Arbitration Option Offers Relief Amid Nuclear Verdicts
Rising jury verdict values continue to put pressure on excess liability programs, but with many of these policies involving what is known as a Bermuda Form, carriers have found an alternative to the American jury system. Here, policyholder attorney Allan Moore of Covington & Burling LLP breaks down what role this method of confidential arbitration plays in the current insurance landscape.
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October 02, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A Colorado court found that an insurer does not have to cover a $13.4 million construction settlement because it was reached through collusion, an Illinois judge partly reversed a ruling granting biometric privacy claim coverage, and a Liberty Mutual unit escaped a dispute over the valuation of life settlement contracts. Here, Law360 reviews the past week's top developments in insurance litigation.

Future Of 'Ambiguous' Defect Exclusion Remains To Be Seen
The LEG-3 exclusion, a defect exclusion developed by the London Engineering Group, stood largely untested for nearly three decades, but just two years after a Washington, D.C., federal court found the exclusion to be ambiguous, policyholder attorney Angelia Wesch tells Law360 that whether the underwriting group tightens the exclusion's language remains to be seen.

Private Flood Carriers See Opportunity In Federal NFIP Lapse
Private flood insurance executives see a market opportunity for a growing sector of the property and casualty industry as the National Flood Insurance Program remains restricted in its ability to renew or sell flood coverage amid the government shutdown.

NFIP Lapse Threatens Home Sales, Hurricane Protections
Thousands of home sales could be delayed or canceled as a result of the National Flood Insurance Program lapsing under the government shutdown, and homeowners could potentially be left without coverage during hurricane season, experts say.
Expert Analysis
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How Financial Cos. Can Prep As NYDFS Cyber Changes Loom
Financial institutions supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services can prepare for two critical cybersecurity requirements relating to multifactor authentication and asset inventories, effective Nov. 1, by conducting gap analyses and allocating resources to high-risk assets, among other steps, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Understanding And Managing Jurors' Hindsight Bias
Hindsight bias — wherein events seem more predictable after the fact than they were beforehand — presents a persistent cognitive distortion in jury decision-making, but attorneys can mitigate its effects at trial through awareness, repetition and framing, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.
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Looking Beyond Property Damages For Wildfire Survivors
Personal injury attorneys seeking compensation for victims of wildfires like those in Los Angeles County must carefully apply a multidisciplinary approach that looks beyond obvious property loss to the full spectrum of damages, considering factors like emotional distress, disruption of community and the psychological toll of displacement, says Farid Yaghoubtil at Downtown L.A. Law Group.
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Demystifying Generative AI For The Modern Juror
In cases alleging that the training of artificial intelligence tools violated copyright laws, successful outcomes may hinge in part on the litigator's ability to clearly present AI concepts through a persuasive narrative that connects with ordinary jurors, say Liz Babbitt at IMS Legal Strategies and Devon Madon at GlobalLogic.
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How New Rule On Illustrative Aids Is Faring In Federal Courts
In the 10 months since new standards were codified for illustrative aids in federal trials, courts have already begun to clarify the rule's application in different contexts and the rule's boundaries, say attorneys at Bernstein Litowitz.
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'Occurrence' Lessons From Policyholder's COVID Ruling Win
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently handed policyholders an important win in Life Time v. Zurich American Insurance, reversing a trial court ruling that had capped coverage under a communicable disease endorsement at a single occurrence, showing the importance of fact-specific inquiry, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Strategies To Get The Most Out Of A Mock Jury Exercise
A Florida federal jury’s recent $329 million verdict against Tesla over a fatal crash demonstrates how jurors’ perceptions of nuanced facts can make or break a case, and why attorneys must maximize the potential of their mock jury exercises to pinpoint the best trial strategy, says Jennifer Catero at Snell & Wilmer.
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Notable Developments At The NAIC Summer Meeting
Attorneys at Debevoise discuss their top takeaways from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners summer meeting last month, including developments on risk-based capital requirements and the evolving use of artificial intelligence in insurance practices.
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Avoiding Unforced Evidentiary Errors At Trial
To avoid self-inflicted missteps at trial, lawyers must plan their evidentiary strategy as early as their claims and defenses, with an eye toward some of the more common pitfalls, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
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Resilience Planning Is New Key To Corporate Sustainability
While the current wave of deregulation may reduce government enforcement related to climate issues, businesses still need to evaluate how climate volatility may affect their operations and create new legal risks — making the apolitical concept of resilience increasingly important for companies, says J. Michael Showalter at ArentFox Schiff.
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When AI Denies, Insurance Bad Faith Claims May Follow
Two recent rulings from Minnesota and Kentucky federal courts signal that past statements about claims-handling practices may leave insurers using artificial intelligence programs in claims administration vulnerable to suits alleging bad faith and unfair trade practices, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Key Insurance Coverage Considerations For AI Data Centers
The burgeoning artificial intelligence industry has sparked a surge in data center projects — a trend likely to be accelerated by the White House's AI Action Plan — but with these complex facilities come equally complex risks, engendering important insurance coverage considerations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven decisions pertaining to attorney fees in class action settlements, the predominance requirement in automobile insurance cases, how the no mootness exception applies if the named plaintiff is potentially subject to a strong individual defense, and more.