Insurance Coverage

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Lucas Roberts

The difficulty of relatedness determinations is a recurring topic on this site. The difficulty is in determining what degree of similarity between two claims is sufficient to make them “related” for purposes of insurance coverage determinations. In the following guest post, Lucas Roberts, Wholesale Broker, Anzen Insurance Solutions,  considers two recent specific cases to highlight the difficulty of reconciling relatedness cases. I would like to thank Lucas for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Lucas’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: The Unpredictable World of Related Claims Determinations

Jack Keilty

In the following guest post, Jack Keilty, Head of Management Liability, New Dawn Risk, examines the growing problem of social engineering fraud, and considers the problems losses from this type of fraud can present from an insurance standpoint. I would like to thank Jack for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Jack’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: The Social Engineering Fraud-Shaped Hole in Insurance Cover

In a ruling that is sure to provoke controversy in the insurance community, the Delaware Supreme Court held in a split decision that, because the corporate parent was not a Named Insured under the applicable Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies, the corporate parent’s payment of the self-insured retentions (SIRs) did not satisfy the SIR requirements, and therefore that the insurers’ coverage obligation was not triggered. As discussed below, there is a lot to say about the Court’s decision, which is, in my opinion, a doozy. The Court’s August 12, 2025, opinion can be found here.Continue Reading What Happens if Parent Rather than “Named Insured” Subsidiary Pays the Retention?

One issue courts often confront is the question of what they may properly consider in determining whether or not an insurer has a duty to defend an insured in a given set of circumstances. In many jurisdictions, the courts may consider only the underlying complaint and the terms and conditions of the policy, and nothing else. In a recent decision, an Illinois intermediate appellate court, applying Illinois law, held that the trial court properly considered extrinsic matter – in this case, the insured’s description of events in his notice of claim to the insurer—in holding that the policy’s Cyber Events exclusion precluded coverage, even though the underlying complaint did not refer to the cybersecurity incident. The court’s decision raises some interesting questions, as discussed below.Continue Reading May a Court Consider Extrinsic Matter in Determining an Insurer’s Duty to Defend?

As I have frequently noted on this site, Delaware’s courts have a well-earned reputation for being policyholder friendly. Accordingly, policyholders aiming to sue their insurers frequently seek to file their coverage lawsuits in Delaware. However, a recent ruling in a coverage dispute, in which the Delaware Superior Court concluded it lacked personal jurisdiction over two of the defendant insurers, underscores the fact that there are limits on the circumstances on which insurers can hauled into Delaware’s courts. The Delaware Superior Court’s February 19, 2025, opinion in the case can be found here. A February 27, 2025 LinkedIn post by Paul Curley of the Kaufman, Borgheest & Ryan law firm about the court’s ruling can be found here.Continue Reading Limits of Delaware Courts’ Personal Jurisdiction Over Non-Resident Insurers

In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, Anne Ray, Lead Counsel of D&O and EPL Claims, Bowhead Specialty Underwriters, Inc., Elan Kandel, Member, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, and James Talbert, Associate, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, take a look at the top professional liability insurance coverage decisions from 2024. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Lessons from 2024: A Review of Key Insurance Coverage Decisions

In the following guest post, Syed S. Ahmad, Geoffrey B. Fehling and Evan J. Warshauer of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s Insurance Coverage Group analyze a New York federal judge’s recent decision to grant an insured’s motion to transfer venue in a coverage matter, highlighting key considerations related to forum selection and related strategy. This article was originally published on October 4, 2024 online with Westlaw Today. Reproduced with permission from Thomson Reuters. Further duplication is prohibited.Continue Reading Guest Post: New York Federal Court Reinforces Importance of Forum Selection for Insurance Disputes

As readers know, issues surrounding the timeliness of notice of claim are among the most frequently litigated insurance coverage issues. Notice of claims delays occur for many reasons; sometimes, for example, the policyholder does not recognize a particular matter as constituting a claim within the meaning of the policy; sometimes there are process or communications issues that interfere with notice timeliness.

In a recent case and that touches on many of these issues, the Second Circuit, applying New York law, held that an earlier demand letter met the policy’s claim definition, and that the question of whether the provision of notice of claim on Monday morning just after the Saturday expiration of the policy was untimely must be remanded for further consideration by the district court. This case is a cautionary tale in many ways and provides an appropriate occasion to review of some of the first principles of claim notice. The Second Circuit’s August 13, 2024, Summary Order can be found here. (Hat Tip to Geoff Fehling of the Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm for his August 15, 2024 LinkedIn post about the decision, here).Continue Reading Thinking About Notice of Claim Timeliness

Policyholders are often surprised when their professional liability insurers contend they (that is, the insurers) have the right, after a determination of non-coverage, to seek recoupment of amounts paid under the policy. These disputes can be controversial enough even when the policy expressly provides the insurer with the right to seek recoupment; the controversy is greater when the policy does not expressly provide for recoupment but the insurer nonetheless seeks reimbursement in reliance on its reservation of its rights to seek recoupment.

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit, applying Michigan law, explored these issues and ultimately affirmed the district court’s ruling that the insurer was entitled to recoup amounts paid in defense after the underlying complaint was amended to remove the only covered claims, even though the policy contained no express recoupment provision. The appellate court’s decision raises several interesting issues, as discussed below. A copy of the Sixth Circuit’s April 8, 2024, opinion can be found here. (Hat tip to Geoffrey Fehling of the Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm whose LinkedIn post linked to the appellate opinion, here).Continue Reading 6th Circ. Affirms Insurer’s Recoupment Right Even Without Express Policy Grant

In the following guest post, Anne Catapano, VP Financial Lines Claims, Ascot Insurance Company, Christina Errico, VP, Professional Liability Claims Manager, Ascot Insurance Company, Elan Kandel, Member, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, James Talbert, Associate, Bailey Cavalieri LLC and Tyler Hopkins, Associate, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, review the past year’s key management and professional liability insurance coverage decisions. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Year in Review: 2023 Key Management and Professional Liability Insurance Coverage Decisions