While it is an obvious conclusion, the Montana Supreme Court recently held in Fire Insurance Exchange v. Weitzel, 371 P.3d 457 (Mont. 2016) that the insured's duty to defend could not be based on speculation over whether unpled claims existed or not. The Court found...
Insurance Law
Supreme Court Finds That a Policyholder’s Arbitration Agreement With tts Insurer Does Not Apply to Disputes Between the Policyholder and the Insurance Agent
In Jody James Farms, J.V. v. Altman Group, Inc., 547 S.W.3d 624 (Tex. 2018), the insurance agent failed to timely submit a hail and rain claim on behalf of the insured to the insurance company. The agent was then sued by the policyholder, alleging breach of fiduciary...
Binding the Insurer to Relevant Facts Through a Consent Settlement
Recently the Missouri Supreme Court in Allen v. Bryers, 512 S.W.3d 17 (Mo. 2016), as modified (Apr. 4, 2017), reh'g denied (Apr. 4, 2017), cert. denied sub nom. Atain Specialty Ins. Co. v. Allen, 138 S. Ct. 212, 199 L. Ed. 2d 118 (2017) held that an insurance...
Failure to Read Insurance Policy Not Required in Deceptive Business Practice Action Against Agent
Generally, insureds are required to read their insurance policies in Texas. However, where the nature of the lawsuit brought against the agent or broker involves affirmative misrepresentations under Texas' Deceptive Business Practices statute, the insured's failure to...
Can Issuing a Supplemental ROR Letter Cure the Insurer’s Failure to Seek Reimbursement in the Original ROR Letter?
In James River Insurance Co. v. Medolac Laboratories, 290 F.Supp.3d 956 (C.D. Cal. 2018) the court held that a liability insurance company's failure to seek reimbursement of defense costs in an initial reservation of rights letter did not preclude the insurance...
Florida Requires UIM Coverage Limits to Mirror the Policy’s Liability Coverage
In Amica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Willis, 235 So.3d 1041 (Fl. App. 2d Dist. 2018) the Florida Court of Appeals held that the scope of UIM coverage must mirror the policy's liability coverage. In so finding, the Court of Appeals struck down a golf cart exclusion in the...
An Insurance Company’s Refusal To Authorize Settlement While Defending Under Ror May Breach The Insurer’s Duty To Defend And Settle Under Illinois Law According To Illinois Court Of Appeals
In this case, the insurance company authorized the retention of independent counsel chosen by the insured due to the insurer's reservation of rights. As the case was being defended, independent counsel advised the insurer that the demand made by the claimant for...
CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS WEIGHS IN ON STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR FAILURE TO PROCURE INSURANCE By Steven Plitt
In Lederer v. Gursey Schneider, 22 Cal. App. 5th, 508, 231 Cal.Rptr.3d 508 (2nd Dist. 2018) the issue before the court was when the statute of limitations began to run against an accounting firm that handled the client's insurance needs. It was alleged that the...
New York Appellate Court Determines Who Bears Responsibility for Orphan Share in Long Latency Continuous Trigger Cases
New York has adopted a pro-rata allocation methodology for continuous and progressive losses where coverage for all triggered policies is determined on a time-on-the-risk basis. Recently, the New York Court of Appeals in Keyspan Gas East Corp. v. Munich Reinsurance...
Allocating Defense Costs in Long Latency Cases in Louisiana
Louisiana has recognized a pro rata allocation method for determining indemnification in long latency exposures. However, the Louisiana courts have not resolved the issue of whether defense costs should also be allocated in those type of cases. The Louisiana Supreme...