
Fire Risk Modelers See Promise In Advancing Calif. Bill
A recently approved California bill supporting the development of a public fire risk model could help boost transparency around methods insurers use to make coverage decisions, while advancing a complicated field of study full of uncertainties, experts say.

Homeowner Policies At Center Of Ga. Insurance Changes
As the Georgia House of Representatives continues to study the state's insurance rate-setting practices, profit margins and claims processing, insurance attorneys in the state evaluate the areas in which homeowners should be watching closely, including cosmetic exclusion triggers, third-party adjusters and the changes to come under April's tort reform legislation.

2nd Circ. Wary Of Retailer's Bid For Ghost Gun Suit Coverage
The Second Circuit seemed skeptical of a Texas-based firearms retailer's argument that it is owed coverage for suits alleging it contributed to gun violence by selling unfinished components used to assemble what are known as ghost guns, grilling the retailer Wednesday for specific allegations of negligence that would trigger coverage.
Property More
The Fifth Circuit on Monday said a lower court did not err in finding that a marine transportation services company wasn't liable for all claims arising from a June 2022 capsizing and sinking of a barge, sayin... (more story)
Two law firms and certain attorneys engaged in a scheme to "grossly and blatantly" inflate damages estimates for hurricane-related property insurance claims in order to "collect an exorbitant fee which they wo... (more story)
Marine engineering, logistics and surveying companies are on the hook for nearly $1.8 million after a government contractor's equipment was damaged during transit from Washington to Hawaii, insurers for the co... (more story)
A commercial real estate insurance provider sued an affiliate of Revere Capital Corp. in Mississippi federal court, alleging the policyholder was overpaid for fire damage at an apartment complex and has refuse... (more story)
A couple is fighting to continue their homeowner water damage coverage claims in Texas federal court against Allstate, in a case brought by a Houston lawyer accused of presenting testimony from a dead expert w... (more story)
Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America can't secure a pre-trial win over much of a seafood wholesaler's loss claims from Hurricane Ida, a Louisiana federal court ruled Monday, finding the insurer's reading... (more story)
McDonald's and a London-based insurer entity formally asked an Illinois federal court to terminate their dispute over the fast-food chain's claim for more than $5.5 million in outstanding coverage for property... (more story)
A New Jersey appellate court on Monday affirmed a trial court order denying Chubb Insurance Co. of New Jersey's bid to disqualify plaintiff's counsel, solo personal injury attorney Eric Dinnocenzo, in an insur... (more story)
Hartford Fire Insurance Co. has sued a subcontractor on a Maryland commercial project in state court to recover the costs of a $719,405 claim made after a steel joist system partially collapsed in 2022.
An insurer for Uber told a Texas federal court that it should only owe coverage up to a lower set of limits over an auto collision involving one of its drivers, arguing that a policy with a higher limit only a... (more story)
General Liability More
A Progressive Insurance unit was entitled to rescind an auto policy it issued to a woman seeking coverage for an August 2021 accident since she falsely declared in her insurance application that she didn't wor... (more story)
A bridal shop said a contractor's insurers must pay their combined $7 million policy limits toward a $38 million judgment in an underlying suit over a fire caused by the contractor's demolition work at another... (more story)
The Total Traffic and Weather Network and its parent company will pay $126 million to settle a negligence case by the widow of a local meteorologist who died in a helicopter crash — $50 million of which its pr... (more story)
An insurer can't relitigate court findings that it owed coverage under a general liability policy to a company that settled a trademark infringement lawsuit for more than $1.3 million, an Indiana federal court... (more story)
Whether gas station operator Gull Industries Inc. is entitled to legal defense costs from Granite State Insurance Co. in long-running litigation over the company's environmental liability may ultimately boil d... (more story)
A North Carolina Business Court judge on Wednesday wanted help deciding whether a Georgia insurance company belongs in a fight over a defunct captive insurer's demise, but neither party seemed to have the answers he needed.
A Connecticut state court refused to nix a breach of contract claim in an ice cream sandwich maker's $4.5 million suit accusing its insurance broker of failing to recommend and procure insurance that would cov... (more story)
A Progressive unit that provided commercial auto insurance for a concrete company told a Texas state court it should owe no defense or indemnity in a wrongful death lawsuit involving an overturned cement truck... (more story)
An insurer must arbitrate its dispute with a homeowners association over coverage for underlying suits claiming that the association's pool contractor allowed hazardous chemicals to spread and injure patrons, ... (more story)
An Ohio-based insurance company filed a lawsuit against a tree service and a funeral services business in Florida federal court, saying that it should not have to defend the company that was sued over cutting ... (more story)
Specialty Lines More
An insurer for a securities broker-dealer does not owe coverage for $3.3 million the company paid to settle claims that an employee defrauded clients, a New York federal court ruled Tuesday, finding that the s... (more story)
A credit union seeking coverage for $5.5 million in embezzled funds agreed to end a suit accusing its fidelity bond insurers of secretly amending policy language to avoid coverage for "virtually any catastroph... (more story)
A Porsche driver who suffered property damage losses after another man struck him wouldn't score a double recovery if allowed to challenge Nationwide, his own insurer, for separately pursuing the driver allege... (more story)
Three insurers have continued to renege on their duty to defend an underlying lawsuit seeking to hold a New York-based petroleum company liable for a man's multiple myeloma diagnosis, the company told a state ... (more story)
A Delaware state court found that Frontier Communications was entitled to a defense against copyright infringement claims, a split Ninth Circuit panel backed certification denial for a proposed class of Progre... (more story)
Insurers for Frontier Communications had a duty to defend the telecommunications company against copyright infringement claims that were ultimately settled, a Delaware state court ruled in a recently unsealed ... (more story)
A Chubb insurance unit has claimed a data management company and a cybersecurity firm failed to prevent or mitigate a ransomware attack on one of its policyholders, leading to the insurer being on the hook for... (more story)
A Seattle-based marine logistics company told a Washington federal court that a trio of marine insurers failed to issue a coverage opinion before it ultimately settled an arbitration earlier this year involvin... (more story)
A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that a Travelers unit must cover Scholastic Inc. for costs incurred in its defense and settlement of a trademark and copyright infringement suit, but not pay consequential d... (more story)
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.