An intentional act may not be an “occurrence” even when there is no intent to cause harm, according to a California appellate court’s recent ruling in Ghukasian v. Aegis Security Insurance Co.1 Ghukasian involved an insured...more
6/1/2022
/ Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Defects ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Duty to Defend ,
General Contractors ,
Harmful Error ,
Intentional Torts ,
Negligence ,
Occurrence ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Trespass
Accepting coverage for part of a claim may subject an insurer to a policy’s appraisal process when the extent of covered damage is in dispute, according to a recent ruling issued by the Eastern District of Tennessee....more
A district court in Montana recently applied an anti-concurrent clause in a property insurance policy to preclude coverage based on an earth movement exclusion. In Ward v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Amer., No. 1:19-CV-0133-SPW, 2021...more
In determining when the work product doctrine is triggered, the Northern District of Illinois recently held that, rather than adopting a bright-line rule, the issue should be decided on a case-by-case basis at the court’s...more
8/18/2021
/ Bright-Line Rule ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Fire Damage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Investigations ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Work-Product Doctrine
Flood exclusions may not apply when floods are preceded by winds strong enough to independently cause the loss, according to a recent decision issued by the Western District of Louisiana. In Doxey v. Aegis Security Ins. Co.,...more
7/21/2021
/ Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Flood Insurance ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Laura ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Severe Weather ,
Water Damage
The first appellate court to consider a COVID-19 business interruption claim has ruled in favor of the insurer holding that coverage for business losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government orders is...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, under Georgia law, an appraisal process tolled a commercial property policy’s two-year contractual suit limitation period even for non-covered claims....more
Insurers in South Carolina may now depreciate both labor costs and material costs when determining the “actual cash value” (ACV) owed to policyholders for property damage....more
A District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently held that an insured’s submission of invoices altered to inflate replacement costs for water-damaged inventory constituted material misrepresentations. ...more
6/3/2021
/ Common Law Claims ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Invoices ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Summary Judgment ,
Water Damage
Last week Hurricane Laura became the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the state of Louisiana since 1856. The Category 4 storm claimed at least 10 lives and caused an estimated $4 to $7 billion in property...more
Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has disrupted events, supply chains, sales, and entire industries. As a result, businesses are going to look to their property insurers to recuperate lost business income, as well as expenses related...more
3/18/2020
/ China ,
Civil Authority Coverage ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Public Health