I have in my office a copy of a Travelers claims manual from the 1980s. In discussing the duty to defend, the manual says, in part: “Ambiguity…means that the words are capable of being understood in two or more reasonably logical ways. Ambiguity should be resolved in favor of the insured. Prompt decisions must be

We in business are all overwhelmed with reading material, but I try to make sure that I read at least some legal and business publications every day to keep up with developing trends.  And, it seems that every day I see another article about a new hacking incident, or another dire warning about cyber-risk.  (The

Insurance claims personnel have a natural, probably genetic, aversion to certain topics.  One of them is insurance coverage for “advertising injury.”  So, if your advertising injury claim is in any way unusual, chances are that as a policyholder you’re going to run into trouble with your carrier.

Some brief background:  Commercial general liability policies typically

At the end of this month (January 26, to be exact), assuming that the Mayans remain incorrect, I’ll be doing a presentation to the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on the topic of insurance coverage for cyberthreats.  Of course, I probably should be disqualified from making any comments whatsoever about trends in computer-related

In no particular order, the three areas of liability claim that seem to make carriers the most unhappy (or suspicious) are (1) employment claims; (2) environmental claims; and (3) “Coverage B”-type claims (intellectual property, false advertising, etc.).  The Great Pomegranate Wars fall into category (3).  (I should note for accuracy that “Coverage B” is a

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

Most lawyers brag about the cases they’ve won.  I prefer to pick apart the ones I’ve lost.  It’s cathartic.

The subject of general liability insurance coverage for supposed intellectual property offenses is hotly contested.  Depending on the “personal injury” and “advertising injury” coverage forms used in a particular policy, for example, insurance may exist for

The subject of invasion of privacy has been in the news (pretty tragically) lately with the terrible suicide death of a Rutgers University freshman.   Classmates allegedly had been spying on his personal life through a webcam, which upset him to the point that he took his own life. 

I don’t mean to seem insensitive or