Back in the halcyon days of insurance coverage litigation (before many defense-oriented judges began to view themselves as Guardians at the Gate of the Insurance Industry), New Jersey courts would occasionally hand down landmark decisions to protect the policy-buying public from sharp practices by carriers. One of those decisions was Griggs v. Bertram, 88
duty to defend
The sad state of the duty to defend in New Jersey
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Additional Insured, Duty to defend
I seriously don’t know why so many judges have seem to have such a difficult time applying insurance law. Don’t tell anyone, or coverage lawyers like me may have to reduce our hourly rates, but the whole body of insurance law really comes down to Four Simple Rules:
- Coverage provisions are supposed to be given
…
Frozen pizza, the sistership exclusion, and an insurance company’s duty to defend
By Gene Killian on
My maternal grandfather, Pasquale Cupito, was a legend. I have far too many stories to list here, but one of them involves a giant garbage can lid that he used as a cooking utensil. See, he could make a mean homemade pizza, but there was never enough to keep everyone satisfied. One day he concluded…
Insurance coverage for allegations of fraud
By Gene Killian on
Few things are certain in life. Death. Taxes. The ineptitude of New York Mets management. And also, the fact that if you sue an insurance company in state court, and the carrier has a basis upon which to remove the case to federal court, they’re going to do it. Insurance companies think that federal judges…
Enforcing insurance coverage for “intentional” torts
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…
Insurance coverage for construction defects
By Gene Killian on
The ongoing battles over construction defect coverage remind me of the good old days in the ‘80’s and ‘90s when we used to fight over asbestos and environmental coverage claims (we still have some of those claims, but to a much lesser extent). Construction defects even involve battles over the appropriate trigger of coverage! Ah…
Developments in cyberliability coverage
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 Coverage for Alleged Intentional Harm
I’ve sometimes commented on this blog that my first boss in the business warned me: “If you assume there’s no coverage, you won’t find any.” There are plenty of risk managers and brokers who believe that general liability insurance coverage exists primarily to protect against people falling down in the parking lot. Not suprisingly, many…
Independent Counsel and the Insurance Company’s Duty to Defend
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Duty to defend, Estoppel and waiver
I know that this is hard to believe, but even when an insurance company complies with its duty to defend, the interests of the insurance company and its policyholder may not be aligned. The policyholder may want to settle, while the insurance company wants to roll the dice; or, vice-versa. Or, the policyholder may want…
Insurance coverage for “intentional” torts
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…