Specialty Lines
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January 13, 2025
Investment Firm Seeks Coverage For Hertz Buyback Suits
An investment adviser said its insurers must provide coverage for underlying actions related to the adviser's involvement in car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s stock buybacks, telling a Delaware state court that its primary carrier improperly denied coverage.
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January 13, 2025
Justices Won't Hear Farming Partnership's Crop Policy Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a Ninth Circuit decision backing the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.'s conclusion that a farming partnership seeking to recover its $1.9 million policy limit didn't qualify for coverage.
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January 10, 2025
Contractor Seeks Coverage For $2.5M Grass Damage Row
An air services company told a New York federal court Friday that an AIG unit cited a raft of inapplicable exclusions to deny commercial general liability coverage over claims that it caused nearly $2.5 million in damages by aerially applying herbicides on the wrong areas.
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January 10, 2025
LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says
Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.
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January 09, 2025
Policyholders' Bump-Up Win Reshapes Nat'l Coverage Fight
A Delaware Superior Court reshaped a national insurance coverage fight when it ruled last week that Harman International Industries' settlement of suits tied to a transaction with Samsung was not an excluded form of consideration for the deal itself.
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January 09, 2025
Towers Watson Says Del. Ruling Should Guide Bump-Up Win
Towers Watson & Co. told the Fourth Circuit that a recent Delaware Superior Court decision favoring an insured showed that a bump-up exclusion in policies couldn't prevent coverage of the company's $75 million settlement traced to its merger with Willis Group Holdings PLC.
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January 09, 2025
Calif. Reinsurance Plan Spurs Mixed Feelings As Fires Spread
One week before the Los Angeles wildfires began, California's insurance regulator said insurers would soon be required to increase coverage in areas deemed high-risk for wildfires, leaving experts split over whether the regulation is an overdue update or an opportunity to pass costs onto policyholders.
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January 09, 2025
Top Climate Stories For Insurance Attys To Watch In 2025
Climate change is fueling a national insurance crisis that is threatening housing markets, municipal tax revenues and the ability to adapt to extreme weather events. Here, Law360 examines the top climate stories attorneys should watch in 2025.
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January 09, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A Delaware court sided with a policyholder in a dispute over a bump-up exclusion, an Ohio federal court permitted an interlocutory appeal on the number of occurrences at issue over recalled batches of peanut butter, and a Pennsylvania appeals court clarified when stacking of underinsured motorist benefits is permitted. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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January 09, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Blocks Policy Cancellation In Fire Zones
Insurance companies can't cancel or refuse to renew homeowners coverage for policyholders in the immediate vicinity of the Los Angeles wildfires for one year, the California Department of Insurance announced as fires continue to ravage Southern California.
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January 08, 2025
Captive Insurer Says Reinsurer Must Cover Legionnaires' Row
The captive insurer of a Michigan healthcare system asked a federal court Wednesday to find that its reinsurer couldn't sell off coverage responsibilities and owes payment for underlying suits alleging various patients contracted Legionnaires' disease.
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January 07, 2025
Insurer Seeks Exit From Engineering Co.'s $1M Settlement
An engineering company's insurer told a Texas federal court it needn't cover the company's $1 million payment to settle a man's personal injury claims, arguing the company failed to give proper notice after the underlying court had already entered an over $7.2 million default judgment that was ultimately vacated.
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January 06, 2025
Insurance Execs Seek Defense Costs For Self-Dealing Suit
Insurance company executives who were fired amid accusations they stole assets from their company to start a competing venture demanded coverage for the dispute from their new business's insurer in Georgia Federal Court.
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January 03, 2025
Del. Court Rules Against Insurers In Harman 'Bump-Up' Case
In a closely watched ruling on director and officer insurer denials of mergers and acquisitions cost "bump-up" payouts, a Delaware judge sided on Friday with Harman International Industries' claims that insurance providers unjustifiably denied coverage for a $28 million settlement of challenges to Harman's 2017 merger with Samsung Electronics America Inc.
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January 02, 2025
Year In Review: AI Tops Insurance Issues Amid Mass Adoption
2024 marked the year when generative artificial intelligence systems moved past their headline-grabbing debut to widespread adoption across industries, providing opportunities and challenges to policyholders and their insurers looking to navigate risks associated with the technology's use. Here, Law360 speaks to experts in insurance and technology law to explain how AI adoption and risks developed over the past year and what insurers and their insureds should focus on in the new year.
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January 02, 2025
D&O, Cyber Issues Top Specialty Line Cases To Watch In 2025
2025 promises to usher in significant developments in ongoing litigation fights over crucial specialty line insurance issues, including directors and officers and cyber risk policies. Here, Law360 speaks to experts for carriers and policyholders on the top cases to watch in the new year.
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January 02, 2025
Top Specialty Lines Insurance Cases of 2024
The past year featured litigation over bump-up exclusions and the rights of excess insurers, a court split over clauses that limit policyholders' ability to seek coverage, and another appeal by Towers Watson over coverage for its failed merger with Willis. Here, Law360 takes a look at the top five cases involving specialty lines insurance policies in 2024.
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December 23, 2024
Ethics Disclosure Fail Sinks Firm's Coverage, NJ Panel Says
A law firm that failed to reveal an attorney's ethics case when applying for malpractice insurance coverage effectively secured the policy using misrepresentations, the New Jersey state appeals court ruled, declining to revive the firm's suit over the rescission of its policy.
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December 20, 2024
Insurer Gets Out Of Ga. Sperm Bank's Bad Seed Claims
A Georgia federal judge said Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co. has no duty to defend a sperm bank that has been sued in Canada and the United States for allegedly selling semen from a donor with genetic abnormalities.
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December 19, 2024
State And Federal Insurance Regulations To Watch For In 2025
The insurance market will likely face regulatory challenges and opportunities in 2025 as regulators on the state and federal level gear up to reverse major trends and tackle emerging developments. Here, Law360 looks at a few key pieces of regulation and regulatory areas that will be closely watched by the insurance industry.
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December 19, 2024
Policyholders See Notable But Limited Win In NC Virus Suit
North Carolina's top court handed policyholders a rare victory last week in finding that the "direct physical loss" requirement for "all-risk" insurance can cover losses connected to the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say the ruling's late-in-game arrival will limit its impact.
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December 19, 2024
Overlooked Evidence In Katrina Suit Highlights Insurers' Risks
The Mississippi Supreme Court's ruling affirming a $10 million Hurricane Katrina damages award against USAA emphasized the risk a carrier runs when ignoring evidence while investigating a claim, while an additional $4.5 million awarded in attorney fees by the court raised eyebrows, insurance experts told Law360.
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December 19, 2024
Insurer Win In Lead Abatement Row A Blow To Policyholders
The Ohio Supreme Court's ruling that insurers for Sherwin-Williams Co. needn't cover the paint-maker's portion of a $305 million settlement to abate lead paint in California marked another win for carriers in public nuisance litigation, as policyholder experts remain unconvinced by the court's evaluation of "damages" in commercial general liability policies.
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December 19, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The North Carolina Supreme Court handed policyholders a rare win in a COVID-19 coverage suit, the Eleventh Circuit revived a citrus grower's bid for damages and a North Carolina state appeals court threw out a nearly $29 million judgment against an insurance company. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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December 19, 2024
The 5 Strangest Insurance Cases Of The Year
Insurance protects policyholders from the unforeseen, but some circumstances are so strange that even insurers couldn't have predicted them. While 2022 was wild and 2023 was weird, 2024 saw cases involving bear costumes, cannibalism, vulture infestation, a severe bug problem and a former Allstate employee with animation skills and an alleged vendetta. Here, Law360 looks back on the strangest insurance cases of 2024.
Expert Analysis
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Lessons On Notice From 7th Circ. Claims-Made Policy Ruling
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Hanover Insurance v. R.W. Dunteman contains broad lessons for policyholders — as many claims-made policies include similar aggregation and claims notice provisions as the one at issue — on how to preserve coverage, say Brian Scarbrough and Maura Smyles at Jenner & Block.
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A Recovery Option For Lenders With Planes Stuck In Russia
For aircraft lessors considering insurance coverage litigation to recover for losses of equipment leased to Russian airlines, negotiating an assignment of rights may provide a faster pathway to recovery, say David Klein and Jose Lua-Valencia at Pillsbury.
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Trends And Opportunities In Canada's Insurance M&A Market
Laurie LaPalme and Derek Levinsky at Dentons discuss the results of a survey regarding Canada's insurance mergers and acquisitions market, and their expectations for the next year in this space — including an increased focus on accident and sickness insurance, and technology-focused assets.
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Breach Cases Hint At Liability Coverage For Mobile Losses
Although federal courts haven't ruled on whether commercial general liability insurance covers companies' revenue losses when customers cannot use their mobile devices, recent cases involving Target and Home Depot payment card data breaches suggest that coverage may be available, says Morgan Churma at Farella Braun.
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Insurance Perils For Health Providers Using 3D-Printing Tech
As the medical polymer market quickly grows amid burgeoning demand for the 3D printing of medical devices, a recent case involving liability for a 3D-printed dental implant surgery exposes the potential gap in medical malpractice and product liability coverage for health care professionals designing and using these products, says Paul Farquharson at Semmes.
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Insurance Ruling Provides Lessons On Cyberattack 'Twofers'
A recent Minnesota federal court decision, SJ Computers v. Travelers, illustrates how an insurance policy with separate limits for computer fraud and social engineering fraud applies to a cyberattack with both components, say Joshua Polster and Laurel Fresquez at Simpson Thacher.
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D&O Insurer Challenges Amid Market, Economic Turbulence
The decline of record market capitalizations, compounded by high litigation and securities class action exposure, leaves directors and officers insurance carriers and issuers facing economic contraction as companies grapple with the institutionalization of environmental, social and governance investment priorities amid a new Cold War, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.
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Risk Mitigation In Face Of Rising Legal Malpractice Claims
As the recent rise in frequency and cost of legal malpractice claims is expected to continue amid global high inflation and economic uncertainty, law firms and insurers would be wise to evaluate key risk areas and consider six steps to minimize exposure, say Nicole Shapiro and Cory Stumpf at Atheria Law.
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2 Illinois Cases Poised To Shape BIPA Litigation Landscape
The Illinois Supreme Court's anticipated rulings in Tims v. Black Horse and Cothron v. White Castle could alter the outlook for Biometric Information Privacy Act litigation, putting an end to companies' and insurers' willingness to pour money into expensive settlements, say Pamela Signorello and Megan Brown at Wiley.
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What Del. Officer Exculpation Law Means For D&O Insurance
Following a recent Delaware code amendment to allow corporate exculpation of officers, businesses considering whether to update their articles of incorporation accordingly should factor in the potential benefits respecting the availability and cost of directors and officers insurance, say Bryan Coffey and Peter Gillon at Pillsbury.
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7th Circ. 'Reasonable Costs' Ruling Is A Win For Policyholders
The Seventh Circuit's decision in USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance last month establishes useful precedent for policyholders, affirming and expanding on its rule that defense costs are presumed to be reasonable and necessary when insurers breach their duty to defend, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Insurance Implications For Aircraft Grounded In Russia
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and new law that allows the government to ground planes leased from foreign companies threatens massive losses for insurers in the aviation insurance market and necessitates a closer look at which policy exclusions may apply, say attorneys at Hinshaw.
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What Snap Removal Debate Means For Insurance Disputes
A potential circuit split regarding the permissibility of snap removal to federal court, which allows defendants to circumvent the forum defendant rule, is particularly a concern in insurance cases due to the difficulty of removing such cases, and the perception that some state courts are more favorable to policyholders, says Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.