Skipping Depositions does not Constitute Failure to Cooperate in New York

Insurance policies typically impose, on the insured, a duty to cooperate with the insurer during investigation and litigation of a claim. Non-cooperation can be grounds for denying coverage. This begs the question: what constitutes non-cooperation? Recently, a New York appellate court affirmed a trial court’s decision that failure by an employee of the insured to […]

Fifth Circuit: Primary Insurer Relieved of Duty to Defend Without Release of Liability of Insured

In Aggreko, LLC v. Chartis Specialty Ins. Co.,1 the Fifth Circuit affirmed a decision by the Texas District Court and held that a Covenant Not to Execute constituted a “settlement” sufficient to exhaust policy limits and terminate a primary insurer’s duty to defend. This case arose out of a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of […]

Top 10 Cases of 2019

In the 2019 edition of SDV’s Top Ten Insurance Cases, we probe wiretapping claims under an armed security services policy, delicately sniff out E&O coverage for a company using cow manure to create electricity, scour the earth for coverage for crumbling foundation claims, and inspect D&O policies for government investigation coverage. In addition, we preview […]

Maryland Finally set to Diagnose an Allocation Method for Progressive Injuries

The Only Thing Progressing Slower Than Latent Injury Claims are Latent Injury Coverage Rules Maryland’s highest court recently heard arguments regarding the proper method of allocation of the covered damages from a slowly progressing asbestos injury amongst insurance policies in place over a period of years. Rossello v. Zurich American Insurance Company, Case No. 2436 […]

The 2019 ISO Forms: Additions, Revisions, and Pitfalls

The Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) issued several new and revised endorsements for use with Commercial General Liability (CGL) coverage forms, which became effective December 1, 2019, in most jurisdictions. The new ISO endorsements include several notable changes that Policyholders should be aware of, including revisions to existing Additional Insured (AI), Primary and Noncontributory, and […]

Montana Supreme Court: Insurer Not Bound by Insured’s Settlement

In Draggin’ Y Cattle Co., Inc. v. Junkermier, et al.1 the Montana Supreme Court held that where an insurer defends its insured and the insured subsequently settles the claims without an insurer’s participation, a court may approve the settlement as between the underlying plaintiff and underlying defendant, but the settlement will not be presumed reasonable as to […]

The Priority Condition in Zurich Form U-GL-1345-B-CW May Cause Risk Transfer Problems for Upstream Additional Insureds

Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”) offers a proprietary “General Liability Supplemental Coverage Endorsement,” form U-GL-1345-B-CW (04/13), which is used to modify and, in some cases, enhance coverage terms reflected in current ISO commercial general liability (“CGL”) forms. However, form U-GL-1345-B-CW includes one change that can significantly impair risk transfer when used by a trade subcontractor […]

Mitigating Franchisor Exposures for Systemwide GDPR Compliance through Cyber Insurance

The European Union’s (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) has been in effect for just over a year, and the full extent of the data privacy law’s global impact is just now being fully realized. The GDPR is a privacy law enacted under the guiding principle of privacy as a fundamental right, and as such, […]

IRMI: Additional Insured Coverage: Don’t Overlook Auto Insurance

International Risk Management Institute, Inc. recently published an article written by Greg Podolak, with the assistance of Celia Waters on Additional Insured Coverage and Auto Insurance. Auto insurance can play a vital role as an insurance recovery asset to an upstream party, therefore properly navigating coverage on a downstream party’s auto policy is important. Be […]

The New Travelers CGL CG T1 00 02 19 Form May Cause Risk Transfer Problems for Upstream Parties

The Travelers Indemnity Company (“Travelers”) recently released a new proprietary commercial general liability (“CGL”) form designated CG T1 00 02 19. The form is largely reflective of current ISO forms but includes one change that can significantly impact risk transfer when used by a trade contractor who has promised additional insured coverage to an upstream […]

In South Carolina, Insurer’s Denial of Liability Does Not Waive Attorney-Client Privilege for Bad Faith Claim

Determining the scope of discovery can be challenging, particularly when an insurance bad faith claim is involved. Courts often face the difficult decision of weighing the importance of preserving attorney-client privilege with the public policy rationale of protecting an insured against their insurer’s bad faith behavior. The Supreme Court of South Carolina recently recognized this […]

The Murky Waters Between “Good Faith” and “Bad Faith”

In honor of Shark Week, that annual television-event where we eagerly flip on the Discovery Channel to get our fix of these magnificent (and terrifying!) creatures, I was inspired to write about the “predatory” practices we’ve encountered recently in our construction insurance practice. The more sophisticated the business and risk management department is, the more […]