Courts are split on whether an excess insurer can sue the primary insurer’s defense counsel for legal malpractice. There are two competing viewpoints that have emerged in the limited published case law. As an example, in American Centennial Ins. Co. …
Before the duty to defend arises, three conditions must be met: (1) it must be established that the policy contains a contractual agreement to defend; (2) there must be a “suit” filed against the policyholder; and (3) the policyholder must …
Coverage questions arise in automobile liability where family members, as additional insureds, are living apart from the household of the named insured. Courts have reached differing results regarding insured status for the separated spouse or family members. Often, the reason …
The Florida Legislature has statutorily prohibited public adjusters from contacting loss victims within 48 hours following the loss. The state of Florida has been subjected to several devastating hurricanes resulting in catastrophic widespread property loss. As a result of these …
Most automobile and premises liability policies provide medical payments coverage. The amount of available coverage is typically small and therefore questions that arise regarding the application and function of medical payments coverage are scarce. Because of the small dollar values …
When an insurance company defends its insured under a reservation of rights, the question arises as to whether the insurer has a right to seek reimbursement from its insured for payments made toward attorney’s fees and court costs when it …
Insurance companies may negotiate with their policyholder a settlement of a coverage dispute through a coverage buyback agreement. In this situation, after a potentially non-covered loss has taken place, a settlement of the coverage dispute is negotiated whereby the insurance …