There’s a very true old quote about interpreting insurance policies that I (and other policyholder lawyers) like to cite.  It goes: “Ambiguity and incomprehensibility seem to be the favorite tools of the insurance trade in drafting policies. Most are a virtually impenetrable thicket of incomprehensible verbosity…The miracle of it all is that the English language

The fine people who wrote the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (and their state equivalents) certainly had a sense of humor. FRCP 1, for example, says: “These rules govern the procedure in all civil actions and proceedings in the United States district courts…They should be construed, administered, and employed by the court and the parties

I have a fair amount of experience in litigating coverage disputes under Lloyd’s of London policies. Let’s just say that, because of the labyrinthine structure of the organization (if it IS an “organization”), pursuing coverage under Lloyd’s policies can be like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.

You can’t just sue “Lloyd’s of London,”

One of the celebrities we lost in 2013 was the novelist Tom Clancy. I wasn’t a Clancy devotee, but I have to admit that “Red Storm Rising” and “The Hunt for Red October” were excellent military thrillers. In “Red October,” the KGB officer on board the Russian submarine (Red October) thinks that, rather than surrendering

I recently got interviewed by Ed Beeson of the Newark Star-Ledger as part of his article about the looming Superstorm Sandy insurance coverage litigation.  The insurance industry has definitely circled the wagons, and the first suits are now being filed.  There will be a lot of battles over causation (e.g., wind versus flood), as well

New York’s highest court issued an interesting decision last week on the professional duties of insurance brokers.  This is a topic of renewed interest following Sandy, as I’m sure that more than a few policyholders will claim that their brokers provided them with insufficient coverage to weather the storm (pun intended).  I know, for example

In my experience, there are three main reasons why companies delay in giving notice to their carriers of potentially covered claims.  First, the underlying suit is an “oddball,” such as an intellectual property claim, that the risk manager thinks isn’t covered.  Second, the company is worried that its premiums will rise.  Third, the person responsible