The Mississippi Supreme Court in Rylee v. Progressive Gulf Insurance Co., 2017 WL 949545 (Miss. Mar. 9, 2017) found that a UIM policy's "each person" limit applied not only to a husband's bodily injury claim, but also to the wife's loss of consortium claim, i.e., loss...
Insurance Law
CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS DECIDES WHAT “FINAL ADJUDICATION” MEANS IN THE D&O INSURANCE CONTEXT
The California Court of Appeals (2nd District) in Stein v. Axis Insurance Co., 10 Cal. App. 5th, 673, 216 Cal.Rptr.3d 804 (2nd Dist. 2017) held that a provision in a D&O policy requiring the insured to repay defense expenses unless there was a "final adjudication"...
Rhode Island Supreme Court Adopts When the Insured Receives Notification of Policy Updates or Renewal Notices Reflecting the Error
Recently, the Rhode Island Supreme Court in Faber v. McVay, 155 A.3d 153 (R.I. 2017), the court held that Rhode Island's three-year statute of limitations against an insurance agent began to run when the insured received an update of the changes made to his policy...
AN INSURANCE COMPANY CAN AFFIRMATIVELY CREATE A NEW AND INDEPENDENT TORT TO A CLAIMANT AS A RESULT OF THE INSURER’S CLAIM HANDLING ACTIVITIES SAYS THE ALASKA SUPREME COURT
In Burnett v. GEICO, 389 P.3d 27 (2017) the Alaska Supreme Court, as a matter of first impression, held that a liability insurer can owe a tort duty to a third-party claimant when the insurer's claims handling actions affirmatively create a new and independent duty to...
COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS ISSUES A SIGNIFICANT OPINION ON DAMAGES UNDER COLORADO’S UNREASONABLE DELAY STATUTE
The Colorado Court of Appeals in Nybert v. GEICO Casualty Co., 2017 WL 710504 (Colo. Ct. App. February 23, 2017) issued two significant rulings regarding Colorado's Unreasonable Delay Statute, Section 10-3-1116. In the first ruling, the Court held that the trial court...
OREGON SUPREME COURT RULES THAT UNDER ORS §742.061 AN INSURER’S VOLUNTARY PAYMENTS TO THE INSURED AFTER THE INSURED FILED SUIT AND THE APPRAISERS ISSUED AN AWARD WHICH ALSO WAS PAID WAS A “RECOVERY” ENTITLING THE INSURED TO AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES
Under ORS §742.061 insurance companies are required to pay their insured's attorneys fees if, in the insured's lawsuit against the insurer, the insured obtains a "recovery" that exceeds the amount of any tender made by the insured within six months from the date that...
MAINE SUPREME COURT WEIGHS IN ON APPORTIONING DAMAGES
The Maine Supreme Court in Harlor v. Amica Mutual Ins. Co., 2016 WL 6518589 (ME November 3, 2016) held that when an insurance company refuses to defend its insured on a mixed complaint containing allegations of both potentially covered and uncovered claims the insurer...
INSURANCE SUBBROKER HELD TO NOT OWE DUTY TO WARN OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY FRAUD DURING THE PLACEMENT OF INSURANCE
Under Illinois statutory and common law an insurance broker owes a duty only to the named insured who has purchased insurance from the broker. Recently, the question arose under Illinois law regarding whether a sub broker, who played an administrative role in the...
INDIANA COURT OF APPEALS HOLDS THAT POLICY SIR EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT APPLIES TO ADDITIONAL INSURED AND NOT JUST THE NAMED INSURED
The Indiana Court of Appeals in Walsh Construction Co. v. Zurich American Insurance Co. 2017 WL 1151033 (IN Ct App March 28th 2017) acknowledged that under Indiana law in situations that arise between the insurer and the named insured, the insurer's responsibility is...
KENTUCKY COURT FINDS THAT OWNED-BUT-NOT-SCHEDULED POLICY EXCLUSION FROM UIM COVERAGE WAS ENFORCEABLE
Kentucky Supreme Court held in Philadelphia Indem. Ins. Co., Inc. v. Tryon, 502 S.W.3d 585 (Ky. 2016) that UIM exclusion pertaining to owned-but-not-scheduled automobiles were enforceable under Kentucky law provided that the policy expressly and plainly apprised the...