Steven Plitt is the current successor author to Couch on Insurance, 3d. He maintains a national coverage practice with The Cavanagh Law Firm. He has been listed continuously as one of Arizona's 50 lawyers by Southwest Super Lawyers. He can be reached splitt@cavanaghlaw.com. To read additional articles by Steven Plitt, go to www.insuranceexpertplitt.com. Insurance companies have the right to challenge and deny claims that are fairly debatable without subjecting themselves to bad faith liability even though their ultimate decision may be held by the court to be erroneous. The concept of fair debatability …
The exclusive remedy provisions in North Carolina’s workers’ compensation law were recently challenged by an injured worker who sought to bring a bad faith claim against the insurer. The worker, Jeff Bowden, was injured while on the job. While his …
The majority of courts that have considered the question of whether an independent insurance adjuster can be held liable for negligence to policyholders arising from the administration of claims have rejected the cause of action of adjuster negligence. Until recently, …
Generally there are two types of mortgage clauses contained within homeowner policies: (1) a standard mortgage clause; and, (2) an open form mortgage clause. Standard mortgage clauses specify that “the insurance with respect to the mortgagee shall not be invalidated …
New Hampshire courts have developed two tests to determine whether an insured’s act was an accidental cause of injury. One test is subjectively based while the other test is objectively based. See Energynorth Natural Gas v. Continental Ins. Co., 146 …
Some insurance policies contain an offset provision in which UIM benefits are reduced by the amount paid to the insured by a third-party or organization that may be held legally liable for the actual injury where the third-party or organization …
Under N.Y. INS. LAW § 3420(d)(2), insurers that disclaim liability or deny coverage to an insured are required to give “written notice as soon as is reasonably possible of such disclaimer of liability or denial of coverage to the insured …
The general rule in Texas is that injured parties cannot sue the tortfeasor’s insured directly until the insurer’s liability has been finally determined by agreement or judgment. See, e.g., Angus Chemical Co. v. IMC Fertilizer, Inc., 939 S.W.2d 138 (Tex. …
Resolving policy ambiguities can be difficult with courts utilizing different analytic approaches. Steven Plitt and Jordan R. Plitt, “Practical Tools for Handling Insurance Cases,” §1:21 (Thompson Reuters 2011, and 2014 Supplement) (discussing various analytic approaches by the courts to resolve …
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently certified to the Alaska Supreme Court the question of whether an insurance company can seek reimbursement of the costs for independent counsel’s defense of the insured when the insurance …