Winter, spring, summer, fire season, and fall – as Californians, we have all become accustomed to a fifth season – fire season. Even worse, fire season was once confined to just a few months, but now is a threat for most of...more
9/20/2022
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Crop Insurance ,
Crops ,
Fire Insurance ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Property Insurance ,
Wildfires ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Wineries
The war exclusion has received a lot of attention over the past year, particularly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Policyholders’ concern that insurers will assert the exclusion as a basis to deny coverage is...more
7/15/2022
/ Casualty Insurance ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Insurance ,
Ransomware
The “war” exclusion has gotten more attention over the past couple of weeks in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For good reason. This exclusion, common in property and liability policies alike, typically eliminates...more
3/15/2022
/ Contract Interpretation ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Malware ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Insurance ,
Ransomware
Corporate policyholders often assume their computer fraud crime insurance will cover so-called social engineering thefts. Reasonably so. Fraudsters commit these crimes by using computers to trick innocent employees into...more
Smoke taint has dominated the worries of the California wine industry recent years. With unsettled climate conditions and continued droughts, there is no reason to think that smoke taint will not continue to be a significant...more
10/28/2021
/ Contract Negotiations ,
Crop Insurance ,
Crops ,
Fire Damage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Industry ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Wineries
Cyber attacks are now commonplace. Ransomware attacks, in particular, have skyrocketed in frequency and size. High-profile data breaches have cost businesses in the United States millions of dollars in losses and incalculable...more
9/9/2021
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Property Damage ,
Ransomware ,
Reputational Injury ,
Retailers ,
Risk Mitigation
Cannabis businesses have cyber security and privacy risks. While the risks are varied, many arise from the businesses’ holding of highly sensitive consumer information or confidential data about business partners. Cannabis...more
5/19/2021
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Confidential Information ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Industry ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Webinars
Unfortunately, we again write while wildfire is devouring homes and businesses in Napa and Sonoma, and threatening many more. We’ve previously posted tips about first steps that you should take in the event your business has...more
The cannabis industry has flourished, along with it the cannabis insurance market has grown. As more carriers write cannabis coverage, there are still gaps in available coverage. Ensuring your cannabis business has the right...more
Though much of the conversation regarding insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses has focused on the potential for business interruption-type coverage... insureds should not overlook the potential that COVID risks...more
Now that the CCPA is in effect, some companies will need to revise their policies.
The cyber insurance markets are beginning to adapt to the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which went into effect on January...more
2/25/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Assessment
Recent wildfires in California Wine Country, particularly those that devastated parts of Napa and Sonoma counties in October 2017, have focused attention on whether insurance covers smoke taint damage to grapes and...more
2/4/2020
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Crop Insurance ,
Crops ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Industry ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Wildfires ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Wineries
In Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, the California Supreme Court resolved two previously open questions in insurance law: (1) it concluded that the notice-prejudice rule is a fundamental public policy of...more
9/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Consent ,
Contamination ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Late Notices ,
Notice Prejudice Rule ,
Notice Requirements ,
Policy Terms ,
Public Policy ,
Remediation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Third-Party Liability
In November, Tyler wrote about insurance issues raised by both the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2020. California’s...more
1/7/2019
/ Bodily Injury ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Connected Cars ,
Connected Items ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Security ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Denial of Service Attacks ,
Errors and Omissions Policy ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Governor Brown ,
Hardware ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Internet of Things ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Manufacturers ,
New Legislation ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Property Damage ,
Retailers ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Software ,
Technology Sector
An obscure niche product less than a decade ago, cyber insurance is now a staple of many companies’ risk transfer programs. Its rise in prominence is no wonder. High-profile data breaches have caused businesses millions of...more
11/7/2018
/ Business Interruption ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Breach ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Policy Terms ,
Risk Management
A federal district court in Florida has ruled that a claim against a policyholder arising out of a hacker’s theft of confidential credit card information was not covered under a commercial general liability (CGL) policy. St....more
10/2/2018
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit Cards ,
Customer Information ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Hackers ,
Negligence ,
Policy Terms ,
Publication Requirement
The California Supreme Court answered the Ninth Circuit’s certified question in Liberty Surplus Insurance v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction. The court rephrased the question presented to it as: “When a third party sues an...more
6/11/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Construction Project ,
Duty to Defend ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Insurance Claims ,
Negligent Hiring ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Public Schools ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Third-Party ,
Willful Misconduct
Farella’s Insurance Recovery Group lawyers regularly collaborate with and learn from different players and functions within the insurance industry. To provide more value to our readers, we have reached out to a series of...more
Farella’s Insurance Recovery Group lawyers regularly collaborate with and learn from different players and functions within the insurance industry. To provide more value to our readers, we have reached out to a series of...more
Farella’s Insurance Recovery Group lawyers regularly collaborate with and learn from different players and functions within the insurance industry. To provide more value to our readers, we have reached out to a series of...more
Farella’s Insurance Recovery Group lawyers regularly collaborate with and learn from different players and functions within the insurance industry. To provide more value to our readers, we have reached out to a series of...more
Two recent cases from separate California state courts correctly interpret the phrase “that particular part” and apply it in its intended narrow sense. This is good news for contractors and is in contrast to some recent...more
An insurance carrier has declined to defend a claim asserted against its insured, arguably without meeting its obligation to investigate the claim. For whatever reason — a change in personnel, loss of a file, or some other...more
10/30/2017
/ Bad Faith ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Defense Strategies ,
Duty to Defend ,
Failure to Investigate ,
Genuine Dispute Doctrine ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Third-Party Relationships
If your business has sustained a fire loss, below are steps for you to take in working with your insurers to ensure that you receive the maximum benefits under any applicable insurance policies....more
In the internet of things (IoT), new opportunities for efficiency continually bring new cyber risk. If a device in your winery or vineyard connects to the internet, it is vulnerable. And so is the rest of the system connected...more
5/2/2017
/ Business Interruption ,
Credit Cards ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cyber Threats ,
Internet of Things ,
PCI-DSS Standard ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Wineries