Personal injury coverage

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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…

The other day, I was talking with a lawyer who represented a plaintiff in litigation relating to a failed business transaction. He was lamenting the fact that, if he were to take judgment against the defendants, there wouldn’t be insurance to help satisfy the claim, since, according to him, “no insurance company is ever going…

If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, you may remember the (underrated) 1974 song, “Fingerprint File.”  (You can hear it by clicking here…“Listenin’ to me/On your satellite.”)  Who knew that, four decades ago, Mick and Keith could be so prescient about cybersnooping and leaks of sensitive data?  Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning, NSA, Nigerian scammers…even British …

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…

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…