Mitigating Indemnity Exposure
Settling a Claim: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
NGE On Demand: Insurance and Indemnity Issues for Family Offices with Angela Elbert
The Court of Appeals’ opinion in N.C. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Young, (No. COA24-594) addresses how a court is likely to assess the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify under an insurance contract, and the interplay...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, has affirmed a district court’s determination that California Insurance Code § 533 barred indemnity and defense costs coverage for a lawsuit...more
Excess insurance policies are generally written to be just that; they—through their “other insurance” provisions—purport apply in excess of other insurance available to the insured. In many jurisdictions, courts will commonly...more
Travelers Prop. & Cas. Corp. v. Chiquita Brands Internatl., Inc., 2024-Ohio-1775 - Several insurers sought a declaration that they were not obligated to indemnify the defendant when it resolved underlying claims alleging...more
Scott Fetzer Co. v. Am. Home Assur. Co., Inc., 2023-Ohio-3921 - In this 5-2 decision from the Ohio Supreme Court, the majority held that the tort conflict of law rules found in Section 145 of 1 Restatement of the Law 2d,...more
Federal law obligates all motor carriers participating in the transportation of property in interstate commerce for hire to show proof that they have the financial ability to cover any damage they cause to the public. One way...more
Indemnification of the policyholder is a core principle of the property insurance industry. A similar principle holds that the policyholder shall be “made whole” but not put in a better position than it was prior to the loss....more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the Bellefonte Rule, which reinsurers relied upon to cap liability under certificates of facultative reinsurance for indemnity and expense. The...more
In 1990, the Second Circuit in Bellefonte Reinsurance Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 903 F.2d 910 (2d Cir. 1990), affirmed a District Court judgment that reinsurers were not obligated to pay additional sums for...more
Although the time may be right to settle that underlying action, issues can arise when your insurer is not on the same page, especially if the insurer has agreed to defend the claim subject to a reservation of rights on...more
Recoupment of defense costs (defense fees and costs) by insurers in the absence of a duty to indemnify under a liability policy is an unsettled issue in many states. In a recent decision, a New York intermediate appellate...more
In Truck Ins. Exchange v. AMCO Ins. Co. (No. B298798, filed 10/26/20), a California appeals court held that even though the named insured restaurant-lessee was found not liable for premises liability to injured restaurant...more
BROTHER’S PAINTING & PRESSURE CLEANING CORP. V. CURRY-DIXON CONSTRUCTION, LLC ET AL. 45 Fla. L. Weekly D259b - Third District Court of Appeals - This matter stemmed from a fire within a condominium unit that was under...more
Insurance policies are designed to indemnify an insured by putting the policyholder in the same position he or she would have been in had no loss occurred. In the context of property insurance policies, damaged property is...more
In Ins. Co. of St. of PA v. Amer. Safety Indemnity Co. (No. B283684, filed 3/1/19) (“ICSOP”), a California appeals court rejected one insurer’s efforts to limit the scope of another insurer’s direct action as a judgment...more
A professional indemnity insurer was liable under a non-party costs order to pay half the claimants’ costs despite having limited its liability to its insured by aggregating claims under the policy and despite having ceded...more
A federal court in Michigan just breathed new life into a long-running legal saga—while at the same time issuing a warning shot across the bows of insurers—by declining to dismiss an insured’s bad faith cause of action...more