The great American humorist and writer Ambrose Bierce (1842-circa 1914) published a famous work called “The Devil’s Dictionary,” in which he provided astute (if sardonic) definitions of many common terms in the English language. Bierce defined “insurance” for example, as “An ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the
Property insurance
Measuring the proper amount of business interruption loss
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Business Interruption, Property insurance
Earlier this month, I woke up to the sound of sirens and the smell of smoke. My neighbors and friends from around the block suffered a catastrophic fire, and lost their home and all of their belongings, escaping with literally the shirts on their back (and their dogs). Fortunately, no one was injured, but now…
Appraisal Provisions in Insurance Policies
By Gene Killian on
According to the American Arbitration Association’s website, “arbitration—the out-of-court resolution of a dispute between parties to a contract, decided by an impartial third party (the arbitrator)—is faster and more cost effective than litigation.”
Yeah…don’t be too sure about that. Insurance companies are slipping arbitration clauses into more and more policies, and many of these…
The liability of insurance brokers and agents
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Brokers and agents, Property insurance
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…
New Developments in Insurance Broker Liability
By Gene Killian on
We had a broker liability case not long ago involving a manufacturing facility on the banks of the Hudson River that got wiped out by Sandy. The client had no flood coverage. We argued that, under the particular circumstances of the case, the broker had an obligation to price the market for flood coverage, and…
Ambiguity in insurance policies
By Gene Killian on
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over four years since Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey. Back then, figuring that discretion was the better part of valor, I gathered up my family and drove out to Pennsylvania to wait out the storm. (I still take abuse for that tactic from one of my neighbors, who…
Recent Developments in Business Interruption Claims
By Gene Killian on
Arnold Palmer once described golf as “deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.” That’s a good description for insurance also. (Fortunate for me, since I get paid to figure it out.) Given the rules of construction, ambiguities (even latent ambiguities) in insurance policies are supposed to be construed against the carrier. I’ve therefore always wondered why the…
Can an insurance company depreciate labor costs in determining actual cash value?
By Gene Killian on
Years ago, there was a comedy ensemble variously called “The Dead End Kids,” “The East Side Kids,” and, finally, “The Bowery Boys.” (They were made famous in the 1938 Cagney/Bogart film, “Angels With Dirty Faces.”) The protagonist of the group was a character named “Slip” Mahoney, played by the actor Leo Gorcey. Slip would routinely…
Limitations Periods in Insurance Policies
By Gene Killian on
Here are a few universal truths. If politicians can raise taxes, they will. If lawyers can bill, they will. And if judges can find a way to help clear their docket, they will. That last truth can create a serious problem for the unwary dealing with insurance claims.
Many business property policies and homeowners’ policies…
The Illegal Acts Exclusion and “Entrustment” of Property
By Gene Killian on
There’s an excellent, but sad and haunting, nonfiction book written by Jeff Hobbs called “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.” It’s about a kid who grew up among poverty, gangs and tough guys in a rough section of Newark, but who was naturally gifted and ended up at Yale. Unfortunately, he couldn’t outrun…