Specialty Lines

Expert Analysis

• How Sonic Boom Risk Informs 'Physical Loss' For COVID Era

  

  Applied to today's COVID-19 business interruption insurance battles, insurers' historical treatment of damage associated with sonic booms — or explosive sounds stemming from supersonic airplane speeds — may call into question the many court rulings barring coverage for pandemic-related losses on narrow physical loss grounds, say Peter Kochenburger at the University of Connecticut and Jeffrey Stempel at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

• Justices Must Apply Law Evenly In Shadow Docket Rulings

  

  In recent shadow docket decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has inconsistently applied the requirement that parties demonstrate irreparable harm to obtain injunctive relief, which is problematic for two separate but related reasons, says David Hopkins at Benesch.

• Preparing For New Mandatory Cyber Reporting Rules

  

  The requirements of a new federal law mandating cyber incident reporting for critical infrastructure will not become operational for several months, but affected companies should begin assessing whether their response plans incorporate critical policies and procedures to ensure compliance, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Lacy Rex at Oswald Companies.

• What Cos. Can Glean From Early Cyber Policy Cases

  

  Insurance claims for cyberattacks under cyber-specific policies have thus far been less contested than claims brought under commercial, crime and professional liability policies, however that may be changing, as cyber losses and liabilities continue to escalate and the market hardens, says Daniel Healy at Anderson Kill.

• A Guide To Extrinsic Evidence In Determining Duty To Defend

  

  As the eight-corners rule for the duty to defend is increasingly riddled with exceptions to its strict formulation of confining the analysis to only the language of the insurance policy and the underlying complaint, Richard Mason at MasonADR discusses the newest notable decisions and offers strategies for attorneys litigating the duty to defend.

• What Insureds Should Look For In Excess Policies

  

  A recent California appellate court decision, Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement, demonstrates how courts will protect policyholder expectations against primary insurance carriers' actions that might restrict available excess coverage, and highlights how insureds should be diligent in reviewing excess policies on primary erosion, say Courtney Horrigan and Elizabeth Taylor at Reed Smith.

• Political Risk Insurance May Help Cos. Hurt By Russian War

  

  As Russia’s war on Ukraine causes severe economic fallout, it’s crucial that U.S. companies with operations in the region understand what losses might be covered by their political risk insurance policies, and take steps to ensure that all available coverage is preserved and maximized, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes and Boone.

• Recent Rulings May Support False Claims Act Coverage

  

  Following a banner year for U.S. Department of Justice recoveries in False Claims Act cases and with FCA investigations likely to grow, companies and executives facing FCA exposures may find support in recent policyholder-friendly decisions for both their underlying defense and related insurance claims, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.

• Anticipating Cyberinsurance Wartime Exclusion Questions

  

  Amid threats that Russia and Moscow-sponsored groups may increase malicious cyberattacks, businesses can mitigate risk by analyzing how war and hostilities exclusions apply to their insurance policies and maintaining a comprehensive record of government cyberattack warnings, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine, David Finz at Alliant and Rick Yocum at TrustedSec.

• Check Your Policy Fine Print For Cyberwarfare Coverage

  

  Given increasing risks of cyberwarfare following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and with a recent policyholder-friendly ruling in Merck v. ACE from a New Jersey state court, those insured should take notice of certain insurers' expansive changes to war exclusions to broadly include cyberattacks, say Philip He and Colin Kemp at Pillsbury.

• How To Negotiate Better D&O Coverage For Antitrust Matters

  

  In light of the Federal Trade Commission's recent indication that it will ramp up antitrust enforcement, Geoffrey Fehling and Christopher Dufek at Hunton discuss several issues corporate policyholders should review when placing and renewing directors and officers insurance coverage.

• New 'Bad Faith' Claim Law Holds NJ Insurers Accountable

  

  New Jersey’s recently enacted Insurance Fair Conduct Act, giving policyholders a bad faith cause of action for claims involving uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, is an important step toward countering unfair insurer advantage and expanding consumer protections, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Insurance Implications Of Texas '8 Corners' Rulings

  

  Two recent Texas Supreme Court opinions resolve a long-pending question by reaffirming the so-called eight-corners rule as the primary means for determining an insurer's duty to defend, which should provide greater consistency between future state and federal decisions, says Susan Kidwell at Locke Lord.