I have long believed and said that the typical professional liability and D&O liability insurance policy contractual exclusion written with the broad “based upon, arising out” preamble sweeps too broadly and precludes coverage for the very kind of claims for which policyholders buy the insurance. The Seventh Circuit has now said what I have long been saying; the appellate court found that the contractual liability exclusion in an E&O insurance policy renders coverage under the policy “illusory” and therefore the policy must be reformed to match the policyholder’s “reasonable expectations.” I hope everyone involved in the professional liability and D&O liability insurance industry will take the time to familiarize themselves with this recent decision. I also hope this decision means the end of contractual liability exclusions using the broad “based upon, arising out of” preamble.
Continue Reading 7th Circ.: Contract Exclusion Renders Coverage “Illusory”
D&O Insurance: More About the Professional Services Exclusion Problem
Regular readers know that one of my recurring private company D&O insurance coverage concerns has to do with the professional services exclusion and the way many carriers seek to phrase, interpret, and apply the exclusion, particularly with respect to insured companies engaged in service businesses. My concern is that all too often the exclusion is written over-broadly and applied over-broadly in a way that threatens to entirely swallow up coverage under the policy. A July 28, 2016 coverage decision by District of Maryland Judge J. Frederick Motz expressly addresses several of my recurring concerns about the professional services exclusion, as I discuss further below. A copy of the July 28, 2016 opinion can be found here.
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