Blog: Insurance Claims

A majority of insurance policies require the insured to cooperate with the insurer. The cooperation clause generally states, “the insured agrees to Cooperate with us in the investigation, settlement or defense of the suit.” The “cooperation clause” is often an afterthought because once litigation has ensued an insured is focused on other important considerations. However, […]

It is well known that insurance policies universally impose a requirement that a “claim” be timely submitted. Unfortunately, this basic coverage condition is so well known that policyholders often overlook what exactly constitutes a “claim” under their insurance policy. A decision rendered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York […]

Builders risk claims routinely involve complicated and aggressive debate about the interplay between covered physical loss and uncovered faulty work. However, denials on this front have recently experienced a noticeable uptick in frequency, creativity, and aggressiveness. The insurer arguments concentrate in two key areas with a common theme – that any damage associated with a […]

It is rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in cases involving issues of insurance. However, the Court’s decision to grant certiorari in Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC, 143 S. Ct. 999 (2023), may substantially alter the use of choice-of-law provisions in maritime insurance policies, and possibly, insurance policies […]

On March 24, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law House Bill 837 which significantly impacts several critical aspects of modern Florida civil litigation, particularly insurance disputes. SDV has actively monitored the evolution of this legislation, including substantial commentary from the legal and insurance communities that followed its enactment. In this multi-part series, we […]

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently ruled that a ransomware attack on a medical billing company failed to cause direct physical damage to the company’s computer software as required under its business owners policy. Prior to this ruling, a ransomware attack on a business computer system and resultant claim under an all-risk commercial property insurance […]

Federal and state courts tackled a myriad of interesting insurance-related issues this past year. Over two years into the pandemic, we saw the first state high court decision regarding whether property policies provide coverage for COVID-19 losses. Elsewhere, as our country continues to grapple with the opioid epidemic, courts are confronted with whether commercial general […]

Most states have some version of an Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Act (UCSPA), which is intended to prohibit insurers from engaging in unfair claims settlement practices. While the UCSPA is based off a model act, there are differences from state to state. For example, New Jersey’s UCSPA does not allow a private cause of action […]

In the case of Vermont Mutual Insurance Co. v. Poirier, 189 N.E.3d 306 (Mass. 2022), Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court concluded that an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to Chapter 93A (Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection Act) is not covered under an insured’s general liability insurance policy. Applying Massachusetts law, the Court found that a statutory award of attorney’s fees stemming […]

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. recently filed suit against four of its insurers alleging that it is owed their policy limits due to paying over $90 million in litigation costs stemming from several underlying lawsuits — a government investigation and subsequent lawsuit and several other private lawsuits. All of the underlying lawsuits claimed data security breaches and consumer […]

Construction accidents happen all the time. Accidents involving worker injuries or damage to property can shut down a job site and cause significant losses. Contractors should be diligent and aggressive in examining all of the available options for recovery under their different insurance policies and bonds. This article will provide a refresher on some basic […]

The Depp v. Heard trial featured salacious and surprising testimony that riveted the country, but arguably the most surprising aspect of the case was that Ms. Heard’s homeowners policy insurer, Travelers Commercial Insurance (“Travelers”), paid for her defense against Mr. Depp’s claims. A vice president for Travelers was even spotted multiple times in the courthouse with Ms. […]