Bodily injury

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My late Uncle Carmen was an accountant who worked for the IRS.  One tax season, I was grousing about how complicated the 1040 form could be. Uncle Carmen didn’t suffer fools gladly, and, with the veins bulging from his neck, insisted that NOTHING ON EARTH COULD BE SIMPLER.  My response was to engage in a…

There’s an old story about famous Greek orators. When Demosthenes would speak, the people would say, “My, what a pretty speech!”  But when Cato would speak, the people would say, “On to Carthage.”  That’s because Cato was a one-issue guy (“Carthage must be destroyed”), and was excellent at convincing his listeners of the need for…

Every now and then, a business owner asks me to review his company’s coverage program to make sure that adequate protection exists.  I always say the same thing. “You’re looking at this all wrong.  Buying insurance isn’t about buying protection.  Buying insurance is about buying a right to sue an insurance company.  Once you accept…

So here’s a frustrating aspect of coverage work.  The underlying plaintiff sues the policyholder based on a complaint that was inartfully drafted (which, in some instances, is a nice way of saying that the complaint looks like it was written while the lawyer was tripping on mescaline).  The carrier denies coverage because nothing in the…