Property
-
August 06, 2024
Blank Rome Adds Closed Insurance Boutique's Managing Atty
Blank Rome LLP has brought on an insurance partner from now-shuttered boutique Pasich LLP to join its insurance recovery group, the firm announced Monday.
-
August 06, 2024
Farm Stench Insurance Coverage Case Saved By The Bugs
A Georgia couple accusing their poultry-farming neighbors of wafting putrid smells and failing to contain insects birthed upon their property succeeded Tuesday in forcing the farm's insurer to defend the business thanks to the bugs, a Georgia federal judge ruled.
-
August 02, 2024
Insurers Seek Quick Win In $2M Injury Coverage Suit
An AmTrust Financial unit and a Hartford unit each told a New York federal court that the other must solely cover a Manhattan property owner in a construction worker's $2 million injury action, disagreeing over whether the owner is an additional insured under the Hartford unit's policy covering a lessee.
-
August 02, 2024
Geico Auto Policy Doesn't Cover HPV Claim, 8th Circ. Says
Geico doesn't have to cover a woman's claim that she contracted HPV during sexual encounters in a policyholder's car, the Eighth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the woman's injuries did not arise out of the "use" of the vehicle as required by the auto policy.
-
August 01, 2024
4 Top Property Insurance Suits To Keep Watching In 2024
A dispute in Hawaii's top court over defense for climate change claims and a Fifth Circuit suit over insurance for an arbitration award for construction defects are among some of the top cases in the property insurance sphere worth keeping an eye on. Here, Law360 looks at four cases with notable decisions or litigation to come.
-
August 01, 2024
Judgment Insurance Market Continues To Solidify, Attys Say
Insurance covering losses from a specific judgment or one that is reversed on appeal has become increasingly popular, attorneys tell Law360, raising questions on the extent courts will mandate disclosure of such policies and whether a critical mass of big-name carriers will wade into the market too.
-
August 01, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The D.C. Circuit revived an insurer’s bid to enforce arbitration awards against Argentina, a California federal court freed two AIG insurers from defending McKesson’s opioid suits and an ex-Allied World Insurance executive pled guilty in a $1.5 million fraud case. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
-
August 01, 2024
Aon Cyber Head Says Recent Attacks Spur Insurer Scrutiny
A spate of recent cyberattacks that have cost companies millions have raised existential questions about how cyberinsurance policies will continue to offset the growing risks. Law360 spoke with Brent Rieth, head of cyber solutions for North America at insurance broker Aon, about the role that brokers play in navigating market volatility.
-
August 01, 2024
Insurer Wants Quick Win In NBA Team's Virus Coverage Suit
The Sacramento Kings' insurer said it is entitled to an early win in a coverage dispute over pandemic-related losses that the basketball team and its arena operator incurred, telling a California federal court that the losses don't meet the policy requirement of "physical loss or damage" to property.
-
August 01, 2024
Locke Lord Adds Insurance, Privacy Partners In Chicago
Locke Lord LLP announced on Wednesday that two partners formerly of Sidley Austin LLP and Thompson Coburn LLP have joined the firm's insurance and cybersecurity practices out of Chicago.
-
August 01, 2024
Growth In Captives Gives Insureds More Control, Experts Say
As commercial policyholders continue to seek solutions addressing cost, coverage and control within the traditional insurance market, a steady uptick in captive insurance may be a viable option offering policyholders more control in their risk management programs, experts say.
-
July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Cohen Ziffer's Orrie Levy
Orrie A. Levy of Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna beat insurers' attempts to avoid defending Walmart in opioid lawsuits and secured a rare ruling setting aside a Delaware jury's verdict favoring an AIG unit in an insurance coverage trial, earning him a spot among insurance law attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 30, 2024
Fla. Insurance Co. Accused Of Causing Black Mold Death
A Florida insurance company was accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination in a state complaint brought by her sole descendant, who alleges the insurer didn't send a promised team to remediate the woman's home after it was damaged by Hurricane Ian.
-
July 29, 2024
Judge Ends Coverage Quest, Calls $2.7M Loss 'Foreseeable'
An Arizona federal judge granted a quick win to an insurer over $2.7 million in water damage losses claimed by an Arizona landlord, finding the losses were "foreseeable" and therefore not covered by the all-risk policy.
-
July 26, 2024
Ex-Magistrate Judge Picked To Oversee Texas Insurance Fight
A New York federal judge has appointed a former magistrate judge to oversee a dispute between a Texas school district and several insurers who allegedly stiffed the district $17 million in damages following Hurricane Hanna.
-
July 26, 2024
Chubb Unit Asks 11th Circ. To Undo $13.8M Appraisal Award
A Chubb unit asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse the approval of a Florida condominium association's $13.8 million appraisal award for hurricane damage sustained in 2017, arguing that a lower court erred in finding that one of the appraisers was partial to the association.
-
July 26, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Settles Ex-Paralegal's Sex Harassment Suit
Florida-based insurance law firm Property Litigation Group PLLC has reached a settlement with a former paralegal who alleged she was fired after reporting unwanted sexual advances and case mismanagement by a senior attorney.
-
July 26, 2024
Insurers See Losses Amid Migration To Severe Weather States
Population migration into parts of the U.S. with more severe weather is one factor driving the worst U.S. homeowner's insurance underwriting results since at least 2000, according to a report on the insurance industry from AM Best.
-
July 25, 2024
SC Justices Reject Insurer's Bid To Avoid Asbestos Coverage
An insurer for a now-defunct thermal insulation installer can't invoke an exclusion for bodily injury stemming from completed operations to avoid settlement coverage of an underlying "take-home" asbestos injury claim, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled, further clarifying when an insurer can use an insured's untimely notice to bar coverage.
-
July 25, 2024
CrowdStrike Outage May Leave Policyholders Few Options
Policyholders whose operations were disrupted by global outages caused by an issue with cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.'s software may have few options to recover despite the chaos for air travel, government operations and financial institutions.
-
July 25, 2024
Retailer Urges NC Justices To Revive COVID Coverage Row
A clothing company told North Carolina's highest court that the state's appeals court erred in dismissing its lawsuit attempting to recover COVID-19-related losses from its insurer, arguing that the lower court disregarded the omission of a virus exclusion from the policy, which "concede[d] that a virus can cause 'damage.'"
-
July 25, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Massachusetts’ top court sided with a hospital owner in a storm damage coverage dispute, the California Supreme Court revived a suit over State Farm’s claims-handling practices and the Ninth Circuit affirmed an insurer’s COVID-19 coverage win. Here, Law360 takes a look at this week's top insurance news.
-
July 25, 2024
Climate Risks Heighten Inequities In Insurance Crisis
Climate risks are contributing to higher homeowners insurance prices and a crisis of uninsured households, particularly among low-income homeowners and people of color, experts say, with some saying "transformative" change is needed to solve the problem.
-
July 25, 2024
Policyholder Attys Cheer Justices' Ruling On 'Surface Waters'
Like a bridge over troubled water, Massachusetts' highest court laid down a rejection of the term "surface waters," finding insurers couldn't rely on the phrase to limit coverage to a storm-damaged hospital in an opinion celebrated by policyholder attorneys as providing far-reaching clarity on a contested issue.
-
July 25, 2024
Zurich Can't Revive Deductible In Georgia Coverage Suit
A Georgia federal judge rejected Zurich American Insurance Co.'s bid to reverse a ruling holding it could and did waive a $2.5 million flood deductible in its coverage row with First Solar Electric LLC over storm damage to a solar farm, holding that the insurer was just "regurgitating" arguments.
Expert Analysis
-
Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable
Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.
-
Texas Insurance Ruling Could Restore Finality To Appraisal
The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Rodriguez v. Safeco, determining that full payment of an appraisal award precludes recovery of attorney fees, indicates a potential return to an era in which timely payment undoubtedly disposes of all possible policyholder claims, says Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.
-
A Rare Look At Judicial Interpretation Of LEG Exclusions
A Florida federal court’s order last month in Archer Western-De Moya v. Ace American Insurance and an earlier decision from a D.C. federal court offer insight into how courts may interpret defects exclusion clauses developed by the London Engineering Group — filling a void in case law in the area, says Jonathan Bruce at Holman Fenwick.
-
How VA Court Change Is Affecting Insurance Disputes
The expansion of the Virginia Court of Appeals' jurisdiction to include review of decisions involving insurance coverage stands to significantly grow the body of related case law, likely to the benefit of policyholders, as evident in the recent decision in Bowman II v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., say Michael Levine and Olivia Bushman at Hunton.
-
Ore. Insurance Ruling Opens Door To Extracontractual Claims
The Oregon Supreme Court's recent Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union decision expanding an insurer's potential liability when adjusting life insurance policies exposes insurers to extracontractual tort liability, and the boundaries of this application will likely be tested through aggressive legal action, says Tessan Wess at GRSM50.
-
A Key Tool For Calif. Policyholders With Nonadmitted Insurers
As insurers increasingly flee California and residents of the Golden State are forced to insure their properties with nonadmitted insurers, it is crucial to understand the Unauthorized Insurers Process Act, a critical but underutilized tool for policyholders, say Keith Meyer and Kya Coletta at Reed Smith.
-
How Merck Settlement Can Inform Cyberinsurance Approach
This month's settlement in Merck v. ACE spotlights how cyber exclusions have evolved since the significant decision in the case — allowing for insurance coverage despite the presence of a policy war exclusion — and where else corporate risk managers may look for coverage in case of a cyberattack, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
-
What's In NY's Draft Guidance On AI Use In Insurance
Last week, the New York State Department of Financial Services released proposed guidance for insurers on the use of artificial intelligence systems and external consumer data and information sources for underwriting and pricing purposes, and these standards will likely help form the basis of an eventual nationwide insurance regulatory framework on AI, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
Insured Takeaways From 10th Circ. Interrelated Claims Ruling
The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in American Southwest Mortgage v. Continental Casualty that multiple claims arising from consecutive audit years were interrelated — and thus subject to a per claim limit — creates a concerning precedent for policyholders, so companies should negotiate relevant policy language, says Michael Stockalper at Saxe Doernberger.
-
3 Significant Ohio Insurance Updates From 2023
The past year saw some significant changes and developments in Ohio's insurance coverage landscape, from new bad faith discovery mechanisms relating to out-of-state property to the Ohio Supreme Court's interpretation of what constitutes an assault or battery for coverage purposes, say Jenna Pletcher and William Peseski at Brouse McDowell.
-
Policyholders Must Object To Insurer Reorganizations
When insurance companies reorganize, policies often take years to ultimately pay out a fraction of what is owed, so policyholders should organize and urge insurance commissioners to take action when retroactive reinsurance deals are announced, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.
-
SEC, NY Cybersecurity Rules Create Complexity For Insurers
Two separate cybersecurity rules recently adopted by the New York Department of Financial Services and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pose distinct challenges for insurance industry participants, with important interactions, and potential tensions, for those required to comply with both frameworks, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
5 Trends To Watch In Property And Casualty Class Actions
In 2023, class action decisions have altered the landscape for five major types of claims affecting property and casualty insurers — total loss vehicle valuation, labor depreciation, other structural loss estimating theories, total loss vehicle tax and regulatory fees, and New Mexico's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage sale requirements, say Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.