Property
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June 18, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Fourth Circuit affirmed that a homeowner isn't entitled to a premium refund under federal mortgage law, a North Carolina federal court refused to resurrect a hospitality group's pandemic-related coverage suit, and a New York federal court said an insurer can't force another to defend a property owner in an injury lawsuit. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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June 18, 2025
Data Center Risks Call For Close Eye During Policy Renewal
Data centers in the United States continue to grow, but the operators have an often unique portfolio of risks that may not fit squarely within the coverage provided by existing insurance products. Here, Law360 speaks with Reed Smith partner Stephen T. Raptis about the potential risks that data center operators may face and how these policyholders should approach renewals to ensure the data center is properly covered.
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June 18, 2025
Loss Of Ga. Immunity Doctrine A Blow To Malpractice Defense
Lawyers in the Peach State are expected to have a tougher time defending against legal malpractice claims now that the Georgia Supreme Court has thrown out an attorney judgment immunity doctrine that was more than 30 years old, rejecting a bid from more than two dozen law firms to keep it alive.
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June 18, 2025
Dentons Global Hospitality Leader Sees Underwriting Caution
As President Donald Trump's trade war continues, lenders are increasingly exercising caution in underwriting deals for hotels, particularly in areas that depend on a steady influx of international travel, Dentons' global hospitality leader told Law360 in a recent interview.
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June 17, 2025
Insurer Can't Force Another To Cover Worker Injury Suit
An insurer cannot force another to defend a property owner in an underlying worker injury lawsuit through the doctrine of equitable estoppel after both insurers ultimately agreed the policy in question isn't triggered, a New York federal court ruled, finding the policy unambiguous.
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June 17, 2025
SC Pizzeria Says Insurer Owes For Building Fire
An insurer for a South Carolina pizzeria wrongfully refused to pay its full $926,000 policy limit after a fire destroyed the building where the restaurant was located, the business said in a suit removed to federal court.
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June 16, 2025
Mo. Enacts Tax Breaks For Home Disasters, Sporting Events
Missouri will offer a tax credit for insurance policy deductibles incurred when homes are damaged by severe weather and increase a tax credit for tickets sold to certain sporting events under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 16, 2025
Hotel Says Zurich Owes $5.1M For Income, Value Losses
A Zurich Insurance Group unit owes over $5.1 million for business income and extra expenses losses and lost property value after a Texas hotel sustained water damage related to vandalism, the hotel owner told an Oregon federal court, saying the insurer covered repair costs but refused to pay for other losses.
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June 16, 2025
4th Circ. Says No Premium Refunds Under Fed. Mortgage Law
A Virginia homeowner cannot recover premiums he'd prepaid for private mortgage insurance under a federal law mandating such insurance for certain borrowers, the Fourth Circuit ruled Monday, finding the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998's premium refund provisions do not extend to voluntary insurance cancellation agreements.
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June 13, 2025
Co. Must Pay Travelers $4.5M For Construction Bond Default
A signage company accused of failing to perform agreed upon work at a New York redevelopment project must reimburse Travelers over $4.5 million for settling a contractor's claims made against a performance bond, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled.
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June 12, 2025
Air India Disaster Likely To Pose Massive Insurance Costs
Thursday's deadly Air India disaster could implicate a range of insurance coverage proceedings, but experts said massive costs will likely be shared by multiple insurers in a process that will be shaped in part by investigations into the cause of the crash.
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June 12, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Mandarin Oriental notched a discovery win in its COVID-19 coverage action while appeals courts dealt further defeats in other pandemic-related insurance cases, Uber filed a racketeering lawsuit over sham injury payouts and the Fourth Circuit sided with an insurer in a dispute over stacking policy limits. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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June 12, 2025
Fla. Death Damages Row Signals Insurers' Tort Reform Focus
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' veto of a bill that would have repealed limits on noneconomic damages in fatal medical malpractice cases — despite state lawmakers' overwhelming support of the measure — signals broad concerns over how tort reform legislation could impact the insurance industry.
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June 12, 2025
6th Circ. PFAS Ruling Entrusts Coverage Suits To Fed Level
The Sixth Circuit forged its own jurisdictional standard in determining that when coercive and declaratory claims are closely intertwined it's likely an abuse of discretion for a federal court to abstain from adjudication, and experts are praising the decision as a thorough analysis of the appropriateness of exercising jurisdiction over insurance disputes.
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June 12, 2025
TATA AIG Leads Insurance Cover For Air India Crash
TATA AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. is the lead insurer for hull and liability on the Air India flight that crashed just after take off in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
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June 11, 2025
Chubb Unit Underpaid Hydroelectric Plant Losses, Suit Says
A Chubb unit underpaid a renewable energy plant operator for losses sustained after several water flow barriers malfunctioned, the assignee of the operator told a New York federal court, saying the insurer paid less than half of the $5.6 million it owed.
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June 11, 2025
Mandarin Can Get Reserves, Reinsurance Info In COVID Row
"All risks" property insurers for Mandarin Oriental Inc. must turn over documents related to their reinsurance and reserves to the luxury hotel chain, which claims it incurred over $223 million in business interruption losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, a New York federal court ruled.
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June 11, 2025
Uber Says Fla. Firm, Drivers Staged Wrecks For Profit
Uber told a Florida federal court Wednesday that at least five of its drivers faked accidents and colluded with healthcare providers and a Florida law firm to file sham litigation against the ride-hailing platform and its insurer, costing millions of dollars in legal defense and settlements.
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June 10, 2025
Panel Dooms U. Of Washington's COVID-19 Coverage Battle
The University of Washington cannot get coverage from a Liberty Mutual unit for COVID-19-related losses under its all-risk property policy requiring "direct physical loss or damage" to insured property for coverage to be triggered, a Washington state appeals court ruled.
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June 10, 2025
Samsung, Home Depot Liable For Home Fire, Insurer Says
Samsung and Home Depot owe an insurer more than $330,000 for payments made to a policyholder for fire damage, the insurer said in a suit removed to Pennsylvania federal court, alleging that an electric range manufactured by Samsung and sold by Home Depot caused the blaze.
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June 10, 2025
Insurer Exposed Drivers' Personal Information, Court Told
An auto-population feature of tech-forward insurer Lemonade's online quote platform negligently disclosed about 190,000 drivers' license numbers to cybercriminals over 17 months, and the website still hasn't been fixed, according to a proposed class action in New York federal court.
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June 09, 2025
8th Circ. Affirms Travelers Doesn't Owe $1.4M For Wall Failure
A Missouri property developer can't recover from Travelers $1.4 million for lost rental income and soft costs after a retaining wall failure caused delays at an apartment construction project, the Eighth Circuit ruled Monday.
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June 09, 2025
3rd Circ. Rejects Ralph Lauren's COVID-19 Coverage Appeal
The Third Circuit on Monday rejected a consolidated appeal from Ralph Lauren Corp. and luggage retailers Tumi Inc. and Samsonite LLC over property insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses, finding a New Jersey Supreme Court decision from January 2024 wholly settled the matter.
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June 09, 2025
Hinshaw Welcomes Insurance Litigator To New Orleans Team
Hinshaw & Culbertson has added a partner from Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz to its global insurance services practice in New Orleans, where she will represent insurance companies and other entities, the 500-lawyer firm announced Monday.
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June 09, 2025
Insurers Must Pay For $7.3M Hail Loss, Property Owner Says
A dispute among insurers over when a Texas shopping center was damaged in a hailstorm has left the center short of full coverage for a $7.3 million loss, and the owner wants a federal court to ensure that the carriers found responsible will cover what they owe.
Expert Analysis
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks
Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.
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AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers
As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.
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Superfund Site Reopenings Carry Insured Risk, Opportunity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reported plans to reopen certain Superfund sites citing the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances raise notable liability concerns, but may also present unique opportunities for policyholders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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3 AI Regulation Developments Insurers Must Follow
Insurance regulators continue to actively develop regulations and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, so insurers should be aware of recent developments from the Colorado Division of Insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the New York Department of Financial Services, say attorneys at Willkie.
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DC Ruling Provides Support For Builders Risk Claim Recovery
To deny coverage for builders risk claims, insurers have been increasingly relying on two arguments, both of which have been invalidated in the recent U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, South Capitol Bridgebuilders v. Lexington, say Greg Podolak and Cheryl Kozdrey at Saxe Doernberger.
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Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint
In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.
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Illinois Trump Tower Ruling Illuminates Insurance 'Occurrence'
In Continental Casualty v. 401 North Wabash Venture, an Illinois appellate court found that Trump Tower was not entitled to insurance coverage for operating its HVAC system without a permit, helping to further define a widely litigated general liability insurance issue — what constitutes an "occurrence," say Robert Tugander and Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.
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How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers
As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.
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3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law
There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.
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Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight
The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued a bulletin that reflects a unique and stricter approach to insurers' market withdrawals and reductions in property and casualty business, making clear that it will not assess compliance based on an insurer's intent, but on the effect of the insurer's actions, says Elizabeth Retersdorf at Day Pitney.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon
A proposed regulation recently issued by the Nevada Division of Insurance would severely restrict the state's new law prohibiting burning-limits policies, enacting welcome changes to address businesses' concerns that the law will make it harder to obtain cost-effective liability insurance, says Sheri Thome at Wilson Elser.