Specialty Lines
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August 10, 2023
Progressive Customers Seek To Combine Data Breach Suits
An Illinois father and son on Thursday asked an Ohio federal court to consolidate their proposed class action complaints against Progressive Casualty Insurance Co., both of which accuse the insurer of allowing unauthorized access to customer information for potentially as long as two years.
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August 10, 2023
Disease Exclusion Bars Egg Co.'s Bird Flu Claim, Insurer Says
An Iowa-based egg producer is not entitled to coverage for losses it sustained when it closed its facilities and euthanized poultry after an avian flu outbreak, a Markel unit told a Minnesota federal court, saying the policy's communicable disease exclusion bars coverage.
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August 10, 2023
Wine Bottler Says Insurer Owes Contamination Row Costs
A wine bottling company told a California federal court that its insurer owed it reimbursement for failing to defend it in a settled lawsuit that sought $1.2 million in damages that a winery alleged to have suffered due to bottle contamination.
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August 10, 2023
Co. Says Court Must Decide On Suit's Venue Before Dismissal
A Louisiana federal court should defer an insurer's bid to dismiss a contractor's suit alleging the insurer lost it more than $2 million in a performance bond muck-up, the contractor said, at least until the court decides on a proper venue for the lawsuit.
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August 10, 2023
Insurer Failed To Protect Customer Info, Court Told
A Florida man lodged a putative class action against an insurance and financial services provider, telling a Texas federal court that the service provider failed to comply with industry standards to keep its customers' personally identifying information safe from hackers.
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August 10, 2023
Excess Insurer Seeks Guidance On FTX Collapse Coverage
Hiscox has asked a California federal court for guidance on how to apportion a $5 million excess directors and officers policy among Sam Bankman-Fried and others associated with the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, saying it's unable to determine how to fairly split the limited funds without potentially exposing itself to liabilities.
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August 09, 2023
States Back Yacht Owner In High Court Choice-Of-Law Row
Louisiana, Mississippi and Pennsylvania urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Third Circuit decision ordering a lower court to determine whether a New York choice-of-law provision in a yacht owner's maritime insurance policy can be sidestepped in place of Pennsylvania state law.
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August 09, 2023
Insurer Seeks Other Coverage For 'Trashed' Art Suit Defense
A commercial liability insurer for a group affiliated with a Los Angeles museum asked a California federal court to find that a museum collections and loan insurer must contribute to defending against an artist's claims of fraud and art damage.
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August 09, 2023
NC Health Network's Coverage Row With Broker Tossed
A North Carolina federal judge tossed a health care network's breach of contract and negligence suit against its former insurance broker Wednesday, ruling the case was brought too early because the underlying arbitration and class action suit over a data breach have not yet been resolved.
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August 09, 2023
Subway Franchisee Says Agent Misrepresented Coverage
A Subway franchisee hit back against a Chubb unit's effort to exclude a $3 million arbitration award granted to the family of a murdered employee, arguing that the insurer's agent misrepresented the policy during a sales presentation.
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August 09, 2023
7th Circ. Upholds Insurer Win In Plane Crash Coverage Suit
A manufacturer of water clarification systems does not have coverage for damages and medical bills stemming from the fatal crash of a company-owned plane, a Seventh Circuit panel said, agreeing with a lower court that an exclusion applies because the pilot didn't have a valid medical certificate.
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August 09, 2023
No Extension For Harvard Coverage Bid, 1st Circ. Says
Harvard failed to revive its lawsuit seeking coverage of the affirmative-action case in which the U.S. Supreme Court undid decades of precedent, with the First Circuit affirming Wednesday the university's late notice to its insurer strictly precluded coverage.
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August 09, 2023
Progressive Hit With Privacy Suit Over Multiyear Data Breach
Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. got hit with a proposed class action claiming it allowed the personally identifiable information of 347,100 people to get exposed by its third-party service provider to unauthorized actors, a yearslong data breach that the company allegedly only found out about in May.
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August 09, 2023
Liberty Mutual Says No Coverage For Spilled Cement Fees
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. took a Houston-based cement supply company to Louisiana federal court Wednesday over more than $75,000 in fees accrued because of a shipping mishap, arguing that no coverage is available because the cargo was not stored in containers.
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August 09, 2023
7th Circ. Allows Sentencing Redo In $7M Medicare Fraud
A Chicago woman facing nearly five years in prison for her involvement in a $7 million scheme to defraud Medicare must be resentenced, with a Seventh Circuit panel finding that the district court erred in its calculation of how much of the loss is attributable to her.
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August 08, 2023
Cargo Co. Seeks Coverage For Vegas Jewelry Heist Losses
A cargo shipment company's insurer and broker failed to respond to its claims for six packages containing diamonds and luxury watches stolen in a Las Vegas robbery, the company told a California federal court, saying all the packages were covered under a cargo policy.
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August 08, 2023
Rising Wiretapping Suits May Be Cyberinsurance Paper Tiger
Earlier concerns that companies would face widened cyberinsurance exposure from a wave of wiretap law violation suits over the use of tracking technology on their websites appear to have been overblown.
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August 08, 2023
Co. Secures $27.4M Trial Win For Apt. Complex Fire Damage
A Missouri-based apartment complex owner prevailed in its lawsuit against Travelers over coverage of an Alabama apartment complex that was significantly damaged by a fire during its construction, securing a more than $27 million jury verdict.
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August 08, 2023
Berkshire Unit Owes $17M For Faulty Work, Court Told
A Berkshire unit is improperly dodging its obligations to cover a policyholder under payment and performance bonds for faulty work performed by a contractor hired by the policyholder, the policyholder told a California federal court, seeking coverage for over $17 million in damages.
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August 08, 2023
Oklahoma Bar's Car Crash Coverage Suit Dismissed
A bar can't remove two exclusions from its insurance policy to gain coverage for claims stemming from a car wreck that involved an off-duty employee who was drunk, an Oklahoma federal court ruled, saying the bar did not allege sufficient facts to support a reformation.
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August 07, 2023
Geico Fights To Toss All Claims From Data Breach Suit
Geico objected to a New York federal magistrate judge's recommendation to only partially grant its bid to escape from a consolidated proposed class action alleging that drivers' license numbers were exposed through the insurer's online sales system, asserting that the judge improperly relied on conclusory allegations.
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August 07, 2023
Travelers Must Cover Truck Co.'s Labor Suits, Court Told
A truck and bus manufacturer told an Illinois federal court that Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America must pay legal fees and expenses regarding two lawsuits, including nearly $3.7 million related to a June 2022 settlement the manufacturer anticipates Travelers will refuse to reimburse.
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August 07, 2023
Underlying Class Cut From Software Co.'s BIPA Coverage Suit
A Hartford unit dropped an underlying proposed class suing a software company over alleged violations of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act from its own lawsuit seeking to duck covering the company in that proposed class action.
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August 07, 2023
Cigna Can't Avoid No Surprises Act Suit, Air Medical Co. Says
Cigna can't dodge payment of millions of dollars owed to a group of out-of-network air medical providers that won independent dispute resolution awards under the No Surprises Act, the providers told a Texas federal court, saying the insurer is "not above the law."
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August 07, 2023
Insurer's Policy Misrepresentation Claims Are Time-Barred
An insurer cannot proceed with its suit claiming that an insurance agency's misrepresentations in a construction company's application for a workers' compensation policy resulted in a $1 million payout to an injured employee, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled, saying the insurer's claims are time-barred.
Expert Analysis
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Beyond Insurance: Mitigating Cyber Risk In 2022
As insurers move to higher premiums and less coverage for cyberattacks, companies should consider restructuring their risk mitigation strategies for the upcoming year to lessen their reliance on insurance support for data security issues, say professionals at StoneTurn.
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Justices May Hesitate To Review Calif. Fraud Coverage Case
In Adir International v. Starr Indemnity, the policyholders are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their challenge of a California law prohibiting insurers from defending insureds in certain consumer protection claims, but the court may not be ready to decide the issue at this time, says Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.
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NY Case Shows Insurance Possibility For SEC Disgorgements
Directors and officers insurers almost invariably deny coverage for payments described as disgorgements in settlement agreements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but the recent decision of New York's highest court in J.P. Morgan v. Vigilant demonstrates how policyholders can negotiate an insurable settlement with the SEC, say Stephen Weisbrod and Tamra Ferguson at Weisbrod Matteis.
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JP Morgan Ruling May Have Broad Insurance Implications
The New York Court of Appeals' recent decision in J.P. Morgan Securities v. Vigilant Insurance — that settlement funds paid to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not constitute a penalty for insurance purposes — could have far-reaching application in other types of insurance litigation where plaintiffs could be characterized as seeking equitable relief, say Robert Shulman and Cristen Rose at Paley Rothman.
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Insurance Tips For Mitigating DOJ Cyber Initiative Risks
For companies and executives involved in False Claims Act actions alleging cybersecurity failures like those envisioned by the U.S. Department of Justice's new cyber fraud initiative, certain insurance policies could help defray the substantial costs of defense and even settlement liability, say attorneys at Hunton.
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M&A Rulings Provide Guidance On 'Bump-Up' Claim Coverage
As M&A activity continues to surge, several recent federal court decisions can guide companies in structuring their insurance programs and assessing whether so-called bump-up claims arising from particular M&A transactions may be covered, say Robin Cohen and Orrie Levy at Cohen Ziffer.
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BIPA Ruling Should Aid Insurers In Privacy Claims
Massachusetts Bay Insurance v. Impact Fulfillment Services, a recent decision by a North Carolina federal court finding that a Biometric Information Privacy Act claim was precluded under an insurance exclusion, represents a potentially significant win for insurers due to its broadly applicable contract interpretation, say Joshua Polster and Conor Mercadante at Simpson Thacher.
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Insurers Should Honor Astroworld Coverage Obligations
While insurers may be eager to shift blame on Astroworld showrunner Travis Scott for conditions that resulted in 10 deaths and dozens of injuries, arguments suggesting the tragedy shouldn't be covered appear baseless in light of the facts and the law, says Benjamin Massarsky at Miller Friel.
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Ransomware Case Signifies Shift In Cyber Insurers' Stance
The pleadings in a recently settled California federal court case, Boardriders v. Great American Insurance, show that cyber insurers are taking an adversarial approach to ransomware-related claims in the wake of increasing attacks, so policyholders should anticipate new policy language, claim-payment avoidance and more, say Lynda Bennett and Michael Scales at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Cyber Rulings Aren't Helping COVID Biz Interruption Cases
Where policyholders have recently tried to draw comparison between the loss of property use from a COVID-19 shutdown order and the loss of data use from a ransomware attack, they have found courts unsympathetic to these arguments for business interruption insurance coverage, say Jane Warring and Kristian Smith at Zelle.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: NY On Industry Diversity
My Chi To, executive deputy superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services Insurance Division, discusses steps her agency is taking to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the insurance industry and suggests practices for companies to consider adopting.
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FCA Ruling Guides Insureds On Classifying Restitution Costs
In Astellas v. Starr Indemnity, an Illinois federal court recently held that a False Claims Act settlement qualified as insurable compensatory damages, not uninsurable disgorgement, providing an important guide to policyholders navigating the tax code's deductibility requirements and insurance policy exclusions, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Subpoena Defense Cost Ruling Gets Insurance Law Wrong
A Connecticut federal court's recent decision that National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh didn't need to cover defense costs for a power utility's response to a grand jury subpoena included two crucial mistakes that contravene long-standing insurance law principles, say attorneys at Hunton.