Specialty Lines
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November 05, 2024
Insurer Says No Coverage For Doctor Sex Assault Claims
An insurer covering an Ohio doctor who was indicted for over 50 counts of sexual misconduct and a private practice he worked at told an Ohio federal court that their policies must be rescinded because of multiple misrepresentations in policy renewals.
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October 31, 2024
4th Circ. Told Door-Maker's $10M Claim Double-Dips Coverage
A Travelers unit says it shouldn't have to fork over $10 million in excess coverage to a North Carolina door manufacturer that paid $39.5 million to settle a securities class action, telling the Fourth Circuit that the case stems from a flurry of antitrust litigation that began before its policy went into effect.
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October 31, 2024
Insurance Risks Abound Due To Exceptional Storms, Pros Say
The 2024 hurricane season is historically exceptional from a climatological and insurance industry perspective, but it should also be understood against the greater context of a high-loss landscape that demands a finer understanding of changing climate risks, academic risk experts said Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Chubb Says No Coverage For Texas Chemical Explosion Suits
Two Chubb units told a Texas federal court Thursday they owe no coverage to Team Industrial Services Inc. for two lawsuits seeking to hold it liable for injuries from an explosion at a chemical plant, arguing a pollution exclusion applies because a release of a chemical caused the explosion.
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October 31, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on the enforceability of arbitration clauses in insurance contracts, a Pennsylvania federal court denied a medical company's bid for toxic tort coverage and a New Jersey federal court blocked an insurer's attempt to dodge covering sexual abuse claims.
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October 31, 2024
Rep, Warranties Coverage Rates 'Unsustainable,' Report Says
A recent report issued by a major representation and warranties insurance underwriter warned that recent average market prices for the coverage were "unsustainably low," highlighting how the relatively new insurance product was rapidly changing amid broader economic trends.
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October 31, 2024
Airbnb Insurance Providers Sued Over Undisclosed Fees
A proposed class of Airbnb users sued two insurers for the rental platform in Washington federal court, alleging the providers violate state law by charging consumers who buy their travel insurance with an unavoidable "assistance fee."
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October 31, 2024
Kirkland Adds Partner To Insurance Transactions Practice
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has added another partner to the firm's insurance transactions and regulatory practice group, following two other partner hires to the group earlier this year.
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October 31, 2024
Meet The Insurance Commissioner Candidates For Wash., ND
With Washington and North Dakota rounding out the states prepared to cast their vote for insurance commissioner, the former will see a new commissioner for the first time in 24 years and the latter features an incumbent running unopposed. Law360 spoke with the candidates about their takes on the status of their state's insurance market and their plans for holding the office.
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October 31, 2024
The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard
Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.
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October 31, 2024
Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot
Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.
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October 31, 2024
11th Circ. Nixes ERISA Claim To John Hancock's $100M Credit
John Hancock Life Insurance Co. had no fiduciary duty to pass on to retirement plans $100 million in foreign tax credits that it had taken from taxes paid on foreign investments, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit said in upholding a lower court ruling.
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October 31, 2024
Texas Wind Insurer's Rate Denial Spurs Funding Concerns
The Texas insurance commissioner's recent decision to deny a proposed 10% rate increase for the state's windstorm insurer of last resort has been applauded by some for prioritizing affordable coverage for policyholders, while others remain concerned about the insurer's funding and ability to pay claims.
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October 30, 2024
Defunct Insurer Says Broker Sabotoged Investment Coverage
A defunct specialty insurer has accused a broker of sabotaging its innovative investment theft protection program, telling a Florida federal court the broker not only failed to sell a single policy but also abruptly canceled its agreement amid negotiations with a separate broker, damaging the insurer's reputation and costing it millions of dollars.
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October 30, 2024
Hanover Seeks To Avoid Covering Body Mishandling Suit
The Hanover Insurance Co. told an Illinois federal court it owes no directors & officers coverage to a medical nonprofit over a man's lawsuit alleging an employee "grossly mishandled" his late mother's remains, invoking exclusions it said each bar coverage under the nonprofit's policy.
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October 29, 2024
Texas Judge Rejects Early Win In Water Pollution Dispute
A Texas federal judge denied on Tuesday an insurer's bid for an early win in its lawsuit against a water supply company accused of providing contaminated water to Cameron County residents, despite the insurer's argument that pollution exclusions in multiple policies bar coverage for the underlying claims.
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October 29, 2024
Chubb Unit Wants $1M Cyber Loss Claim Tossed
A Chubb unit urged a Texas federal court to toss an advertising agency's lawsuit alleging the insurer failed to properly cover its claim surrounding $1 million in losses because of a 2022 cyber incident, arguing the company didn't state a proper claim for relief.
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October 28, 2024
NJ Diocese Gets Insurer's Abuse Coverage Suit Tossed
A New Jersey federal court tossed an insurer's suit seeking to escape coverage for more than 200 sexual abuse lawsuits brought against the Catholic Diocese of Trenton, saying Monday the suit "relies on a strictly hypothetical controversy that may never occur."
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October 28, 2024
Wrongful Death Coverage Capped At $1M, Zurich Says
Zurich urged a Colorado federal court to grant it an early win in a lawsuit brought by a pipeline construction company stemming from an underlying wrongful death action, arguing that relevant policy language only guaranteed the company $1 million instead of twice that amount.
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October 25, 2024
New York City Seeks Coverage In Homeless Shelter Death Suit
The city of New York is seeking coverage from the insurer of a homeless shelter it contracted with after it was accused of negligence leading to the fatal seizure of a mother who lived there, a case removed to New York federal court Friday said.
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October 25, 2024
Fla. Bar Insurance Biz Names First New Chair In Over 30 Years
Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. will have a new chair for the first time since its launch in 1987 after its board of directors tapped a solo practitioner in Tampa as its next leader.
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October 24, 2024
Anderson Kill Warns Of New Perils At Policyholder Conference
Insurance recovery attorneys from Anderson Kill PC and guest speakers warned an audience in New York City on Thursday of peril upon peril, sounding the alarm on newer cyber and environmental risks in a coverage landscape moving as the ground literally shifts beneath our feet.
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October 24, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Crypto Theft Coverage
The Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court's ruling that an individual's homeowners policy didn't cover his loss of $170,000 in cryptocurrency to an alleged scam, agreeing with a Virginia federal court that the loss didn't constitute a "direct physical loss."
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October 24, 2024
Robbins Geller Tapped To Lead Lincoln National Investor Suit
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP will lead an investor suit against insurance holding company Lincoln National in Pennsylvania federal court alleging that it misled investors about its failing variable life insurance product.
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October 24, 2024
Nationwide Asks Mich. Justices To Skip Unitary Tax Case
Nationwide asked the Michigan Supreme Court to deny the state tax agency's application for review of an appellate court's decision that said the insurance company's entities should file their taxes as a unitary group, saying that ruling was consistent with a plain reading of the state's laws.
Expert Analysis
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Cos. Seeking Cyber Coverage Can Look To Key Policy Terms
As cyberattacks increasingly threaten business operations, including one last month that partially paralyzed UnitedHealth's services, expanded interpretations of several key policy terms may allow affected companies to recover under cyber business interruption policies or other coverage, even if their business hasn't completely shut down, say attorneys at Kasowitz.
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Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable
Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.
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Insurance Implications Of Trump's NY Civil Fraud Verdict
A New York state trial court’s $450 million judgment against former President Donald Trump and affiliated entities for valuation fraud offers several important lessons for companies seeking to obtain directors and officers insurance, including the consequences of fraudulent misrepresentations and critical areas of underwriting risk, says Kevin LaCroix at RT ProExec.
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Understanding Insurance Is Key To Limiting Antitrust Liability
As regulators signal their intent to continue last year's aggressive campaign of corporate antitrust litigation, businesses must make active management of their liability insurance policies, along with a firm knowledge of the limits of their coverage, central to their strategies for limiting the enormous financial risks of enforcement, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy
In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.
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Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.
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5 Tips For Policyholders Arbitrating R&W Insurance Claims
With more representations and warranties insurance disputes being arbitrated, policyholder counsel should note issues that are unique to RWI claims, including those of privilege, priority and preserving subrogation, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Justices Stay The Course In Maritime Choice-Of-Law Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's narrowly drawn decision in Great Lakes Insurance v. Raiders Retreat Realty, enforcing the underlying insurance contract's choice-of-law provision, carefully distinguishes those provisions from forum selection clauses, and ensures that courts will not apply its precepts outside the maritime context, says John Coyle at the University of North Carolina.
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Key Lessons After A Rare R&W Insurance Ruling
The recent New York state court decision in Novolex Holdings v. Illinois Union Insurance is noteworthy as one of the rare judicial opinions arising in the context of representations and warranties insurance, serving to remind parties entering into R&W insurance policies that they may not be immune from some doctrines unfavorable to insurers, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.
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SEC Regs Give Banks Chance To Step Up Cyber Safety Game
Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act forced financial institutions to undertake best practices in recordkeeping, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently effective cybersecurity regulations stand to similarly drive those same enterprises to seek out and implement best practices in cybersecurity, to everyone's benefit, says James Gerber at SimSpace.
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What To Know About RWI In Acquisition And Divestiture Deals
As a slower pace of merger activity turns underwriters toward new industries, representations and warranties insurance policies are increasingly being written for acquisition and divestiture energy deals, making it important for contracting parties to understand how the RWI underwriting process works in this new sector, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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SAG-AFTRA Contract Is A Landmark For AI And IP Interplay
SAG-AFTRA's recently ratified contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers introduced a framework to safeguard performers' intellectual property rights and set the stage for future discussions on how those rights interact with artificial intelligence — which should put entertainment businesses on alert for compliance, says Evynne Grover at QBE.
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What R&W Insurance Access Means For Small-Cap M&A
As a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions has increased insurer appetite for underwriting small-cap transactions, buyers of small and midsize enterprises stand to benefit from easier access to representations and warranties insurance, which can add protection and reassurance for all parties involved in a deal, say Caroline Thee and Ewelina Mikocewicz at Taft Stettinius.