Settlement, Umbrella Policies

Umbrella Insurer’s “Business Decision” to Pick Up an Insured’s Defense Leads to a Multi-Million Dollar Fraudulent Concealment...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 5/27/2025

A primary insurer (Truck Insurance Exchange) and an umbrella insurer (Federal Insurance Company) have been involved in a series of lawsuits dating back to 2007. The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that their...more

Texas Appeals Court Finds Project Owner Excluded From Coverage as Claimants’ Statutory Employer

Carlton Fields on 4/14/2025

On April 3, 2025, a Texas state appeals court reversed a trial court order awarding Exxon Mobil $25 million under an umbrella insurance policy issued by Lexington Insurance Co. to Brock Services Ltd. The appeals court found...more

Insurance – Texas Style, Part 1: Stowers Liability and Insurance Towers

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 2/21/2025

This is the first in a series of discussions about insurance issues unique to the Lone Star State. For nearly a century, the Stowers doctrine has been a critical cornerstone of Texas insurance law protecting insureds...more

A Cautionary Tale and a Wistful Remembrance About Settlement Security

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 4/22/2021

Our language around settlements connotes war and peace – in settling we are “buying our peace” or “ceasing hostilities.” The old saw is that a good settlement leaves no one satisfied, but in truth, a good settlement leaves...more

Peerless, This is Not: Sixth Circuit Finds No Latent Ambiguity in Consent to Settle Requirement in Excess Policy

Carlton Fields on 1/6/2017

Disputes between policyholders and excess insurers often involve events that occurred before the underlying defense costs or indemnity payments reached the excess layer. In Stryker Corp. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of...more

Excess Insurer Can Sue Primary for Failing to Settle Within Limits Even Without Entry of Excess Judgment

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP on 8/9/2016

In Ace American Ins. Co. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. (No. B264861, filed 8/5/16), a California appeals court held that an excess insurer that contributes to the settlement of an underlying case due to the primary insurer’s...more

An Employee's Umbrella Insurance Policy Must Be Exhausted Before Seeking Contribution From Policies Covering The Employer

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on 3/5/2013

When an employer is vicariously liable to a third party for its employee’s negligence, and both the employer and employee have primary and umbrella policies covering liability to the third party, the employee’s primary and...more

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