Specialty Lines
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January 11, 2024
House Bill Would Create National Reinsurance Program
The U.S. Department of the Treasury would administer a new national reinsurance program under a $350 billion proposal that would also provide grants for risk-mitigation activities and cash payments for low-income consumers.
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January 11, 2024
Agency Tells 9th Circ. To Ax Insurer Win In Poaching Suit Row
A talent agency's fight with Markel over coverage of claims that the agency poached a competitor's agents and clients has returned to the Ninth Circuit, with the agency asking the appeals court to overturn a lower court's second ruling in favor of the insurer.
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January 11, 2024
Insurer Says Resident's Rape In Memory Ward Not Covered
A dementia facility accused of covering up a rape of a resident by another patient shouldn't have defense coverage against an underlying suit brought by the resident and her family, its insurer told an Alaska federal judge.
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January 11, 2024
Divorce Pauses Husband, Wife IP Row Over Insurance Co.
The North Carolina Business Court halted a lawsuit alleging the husband of an insurance agency owner stole her business records to benefit his newly formed company while keeping $3 million meant for her, reasoning the case will be affected by divorce proceedings the two are going through.
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January 11, 2024
Doctor, Insurers Agree To End Wiretap Coverage Suit
A former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center surgeon has settled with his insurers in a suit seeking coverage for defense in a fellow surgeon's wiretapping and defamation action against him, according to a stipulation of dismissal filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
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January 11, 2024
Nationwide Wins Dismissal After Pruning Billing Class Action
Nationwide defeated a proposed class action brought by a Pennsylvania man who was seeking confirmation that the insurer was wrongly denying medical benefits related to vehicle crash injuries, with a Pennsylvania federal judge ruling that his breach of contract allegations were insufficient to survive dismissal.
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January 10, 2024
Foster Org. Not Covered In Child Neglect Suit, Insurer Says
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. asked a Missouri federal court Wednesday to rule that it does not have to defend a foster care nonprofit and one of its employees from a suit alleging they were negligent in the abuse and death of a 3-year-old.
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January 10, 2024
Coverage Fight Over Ad Infringement Suit Stays In Fed. Court
A Minnesota federal judge refused Wednesday to send a dispute over coverage of a copyright infringement suit settlement back to state court, finding the policyholder's mailing of service to the wrong address meant its insurer's removal to federal court could proceed.
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January 10, 2024
Chubb Unit, Bank Settle $15M Scam Coverage Row
A Chubb unit and a California banking company settled their dispute over coverage for a $15 million loss the bank suffered after granting a loan to a woman posing as an heir to aerospace giant McDonnell Douglas Corp., the parties told a federal court Wednesday.
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January 10, 2024
Insurer Can't Get Atty Fees After $10M Death Coverage Win
An architecture firm's insurer cannot recover attorney fees it incurred while successfully opposing coverage for a suit seeking more than $10 million over a worker's death, a Florida federal court ruled Wednesday, adopting a magistrate's finding that the insurer's declaratory suit wasn't a civil action for damages.
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January 10, 2024
Del. Justices Make Waves Undoing Verizon Fraud Coverage
The Delaware Supreme Court delivered a surprising upset by overturning Verizon's coverage of a $95 million settlement with a bankruptcy trust over a fraudulent transfer suit, providing policyholders a loss of uncertain proportions.
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January 10, 2024
Celsius Insurers Seek OK To Pay Execs' Defense Costs
Four excess insurers asked a New York bankruptcy judge to let them provide defense coverage to Celsius Network executives facing investigations, subpoenas and lawsuits.
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January 10, 2024
Geico Drops No-Fault Charges Suit Against NY Pharmacy
Geico informed a New York federal court that it has put to rest a lawsuit alleging a New York pharmacy exploited the Empire State's no-fault insurance system by submitting $1.4 million in fraudulent billing for pharmaceutical products to treat individuals involved in car accidents and eligible for coverage through the insurer.
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January 10, 2024
2nd Circ. Inverted Pleading Standards, NRA Tells Justices
The National Rifle Association of America urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a finding that a former New York state official's statements advising NRA-affiliated businesses to assess their reputational risks did not violate the association's constitutional rights, saying the Second Circuit inverted pleading standards.
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January 10, 2024
Background Check Co. Had Duty To Defend Security Provider
A background check company breached its duty to defend a security services provider accused of negligently hiring a security guard who two patients alleged assaulted them at a California medical center, a Colorado federal court ruled, saying the underlying allegations clearly triggered the company's indemnity obligations.
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January 09, 2024
Insurer Asks NC Justices To Help Secure $524M Judgment
An insurer urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to review a state appeals court's judgment reversing limitations on an embattled insurance mogul's transfer of assets, maintaining that the decision "substantially diminishes" its ability as a judgment creditor to collect a more than $524 million award.
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January 09, 2024
Judge Scoffs At Broker's Pose To Insurer In Buccaneers Deal
In an appeal by Axis Insurance Co. seeking to overturn an Indiana federal judge's decision siding with a broker in an indemnity coverage row involving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one judge on the appellate panel accused the broker on Tuesday of hiding from Axis' claim until a settlement was reached.
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January 09, 2024
Insurance Broker Says Competitor Infringed Trademarks
An insurance broker sued another insurance broker it claimed has infringed on its trademarks and variations of the marks, telling a Texas federal court to find that it is entitled to collect its competitor's profits from the infringement.
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January 09, 2024
Surgical Gown Manufacturer Ends $3M Recall Coverage Row
A medical supply manufacturer told a Texas federal court Tuesday that it had settled a dispute with its insurers over coverage of more than $3 million in losses from the production and recall of surgical gowns made with inadequate material.
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January 09, 2024
Conn. Dealership's Arson Coverage Suit Pared To Single Claim
A Connecticut federal judge has tossed most claims lodged against two insurers in a used car dealership's coverage suit stemming from a 2019 fire caused by arson, allowing only one breach of contract claim against an insurer to continue.
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January 09, 2024
Insurers Must Cover Loss Of 500K Bushels Of Soybeans
A New York state judge said three insurers must cover a commodity company's loss of over 500,000 bushels of soybeans resulting from a Mississippi-based warehouse's entrance into bankruptcy in September 2021, finding the loss occurred during the policy period.
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January 09, 2024
Hinshaw Adds 6-Atty Insurance Team In LA, San Francisco
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced Tuesday that it has brought on six insurance attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles, including three partners and three senior counsel, from now-closed Coddington Hicks & Danforth.
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January 09, 2024
Car Care Provider Wants 'Fact-Phobic' Class Action Tossed
A vehicle care protection provider and its insurer urged a Washington state federal court to toss a "fact-phobic" proposed class action accusing the provider of illegally selling noncompliant service contracts, saying the agreement at issue is not a service contract.
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January 09, 2024
Insurance Boutique Co-Founder Joins McGuireWoods
A founding partner of insurance boutique Pasich LLP and former adviser at consultancy AECOM is joining McGuireWoods LLP's national insurance recovery team, the firm said Monday.
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January 08, 2024
Claims Against LA Ad Firm Trimmed In $10M Fraud Row
An Ohio federal judge trimmed claims of fraudulent misrepresentation and conversion against a Los Angeles-based advertising firm and its chief executive officer, leaving intact seven other counts in an insurer's $10 million racketeering fraud suit against an ex-executive and, the suit says, his co-conspirators.
Expert Analysis
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5 Buyers' Counsel Tips For R&W Insurance Underwriting Calls
With representations and warranties insurance becoming more popular than ever, buyers' counsel participating in underwriting calls for such insurance should follow certain best practices to secure contracts with minimal exclusions, say Bryan O'Keefe and Gena Usenheimer at Seyfarth.
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When A Denial Of Recovery-Based Insurance Claim Is Invalid
Two recent court decisions show that policyholders should not accept denials of coverage based on the uninsurability of restitution or disgorgement-based losses without a detailed, two-part analysis of the specific state's law and the particular facts of the loss, say Stephen Raptis and Emily Buchanan at Haynes and Boone.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Del. Tackles Mental Health
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro highlights the state's efforts to achieve insurance coverage parity for mental health care by confronting systemic stigma and penalizing disparate and restrictive insurance determinations.
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Key Takeaways From The NAIC Summer National Meeting
Stephanie Duchene and Kara Baysinger at Willkie highlight what insurance practitioners should know about top industry priorities from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ recent national meeting, including climate-related risk, diversity and inclusion, and technological innovation.
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Considerations In Structuring Private Equity D&O Coverage
With the surge in investment activity driven by the ongoing pandemic recovery, private equity firms should carefully consider the scope of protection afforded by their directors and officers and general partnership liability programs, and how that coverage fits into their overall risk mitigation strategy, say Geoffrey Fehling and Syed Ahmad at Hunton and Rachel Beck at CAC Specialty.
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The Complex State Of Insurance In The Cannabis Business
Jan Larson and Philip Sailer at Jenner & Block outline the complex cannabis regulatory schemes perplexing courts faced with insurance coverage cases and discuss legislative solutions that could at least begin to reduce the challenges for both policyholders and insurers.
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D&O Coverage Considerations Amid Increasing SEC Scrutiny
With all signs pointing to heightened U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission oversight and enforcement, policyholders should be asking four questions to ensure their directors and officers insurance provides the protection they expect and to avoid coverage disputes, say Robin Cohen and Orrie Levy at Cohen Ziffer.
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Policyholder Best Practices As Cyberattacks Escalate
As ransomware attacks increasingly target corporate victims, policyholders should enhance cybersecurity and privacy efforts to avoid regulatory hot water and mitigate the effects of rising insurance premiums and coverage restrictions, say Lee Epstein and Krishna Jani at Flaster Greenberg.
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Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Wis. Tackles Climate Risk
Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable talks about educating consumers on potential climate-risk coverage gaps and mitigation efforts, and encouraging insurers to recognize the latter in underwriting, in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters.
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Insurer Considerations For Post-Pandemic Virtual Mediation
To determine whether to continue engaging in virtual mediations after the pandemic ends, insurers should weigh the format's challenges against its benefits, including decreased hostility between parties, time and cost, and increased client participation, say Jennifer Gibbs and Amanda Rodriguez at Zelle.
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Key Considerations For D&O Policy Related-Claims Clauses
A California federal court's decision in Stem v. Scottsdale Insurance — which found that multiple claims were subject to a single policy limit under the related-claims provision in a directors and officers insurance policy — highlights areas of consideration, such as policy language and choice of law, for businesses shopping for D&O policies, say attorneys at Hunton.
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NY Ruling Should Make Counsel More Cautious In Emails
A recent New York Appellate Division decision, Philadelphia Insurance v. Kendall, makes it much more likely that a settlement could be effectuated by simple email exchanges without more formal written documentation memorializing all the terms of the settlement, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.