Breaking Down Bad Faith: Insurers’ Good Faith Duties and Defending Bad Faith Claims
JONES DAY PRESENTS®: Insurance Implications of the California Consumer Privacy Act
There must be something in the water or the plaintiff’s bar just had a conference where the keynote speaker addressed strategies for putting pressure on insurers by issuing time-limited demands (“TLD”) because we have been...more
With increasing frequency, insurers are challenging the sufficiency and clarity of settlement demands they failed to previously accept. The insurer’s challenges can take many forms but most focus on a demand not being written...more
Insurers are frequently asked to satisfy their duty of good faith and fair dealing by entertaining reasonable settlement offers within the combined limits of the policies. However, primary and excess insurers do not always...more
In states that haven’t passed safe harbor legislation, multiple claimants and insufficient limit claims pose certain challenges to insurers in the claims handling stage. Numerous claimants competing for severely limited...more
Claims Made and Reported policies are their own animal. Proper reporting of claims is vital to ensure coverage for any loss. Knowing what constitutes a “claim” that must be reported and when and how to report the claim can be...more
Earlier this month, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion reminding policyholders of the first rule of insurance: Words matter. In Rivera v. Starstone Specialty Ins. Co.,1 the court was asked to...more
Excess insurers facing claims should heavily scrutinize their policies for conditions that may be unsatisfactory —even if seemingly immaterial— because they can provide a complete defense to coverage. In a recent case, an...more
This year began like the last one ended, with lots of activity. Total loss class actions kept going around the country, and labor depreciation class actions experienced ups and downs, depending on one’s viewpoint. New class...more
Key Takeaways - New legislation in New Jersey requires insurers to disclose policy limits in response to a written request from a New Jersey-licensed attorney. Broader than the existing pre-suit disclosure statute...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether tendering a policy limits check on a liability policy with an overbroad release could constitute bad faith. In Pelaez v....more
The California Court of Appeal issued an important decision that may significantly impact how settlement opportunities are evaluated in catastrophic liability claims. In Pinto v. Farmers Ins. Exch., No. B295742, ___ Cal....more
Since 2008, Minnesota has had a bad-faith statute that penalizes an insurance company for its unreasonable denial of a first-party insurance claim. But it was only earlier this month that a Minnesota appellate court...more
An Insurer’s Guide to Reserving Rights: Tips for Avoiding Waiver and Estoppel - Insurers know all too well that the penalties for an ineffective reservation of rights letter can be severe...more
We have previously featured New Jersey District Court decisions addressing “unequivocal” denials in the context of policies’ suit limitation provisions. In the latest, Ryan v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., No. 14-6308...more
It’s said that “defeat is an orphan,” but insurable losses often have multiple, concurrent causes. In some cases, one or more of those causes might be outside the scope of coverage, either by omission or exclusion. In Sebo v....more