Whether from a hurricane, a broken dam, or a rising river, floods are one of the most common and most costly causes of loss. Because flood insurance is so difficult to obtain, floods are also one of the most feared causes of loss.
Continue Reading Zurich Offers New Excess Flood Coverage Policies
Zurich Financial Services Group and the Business Continuity Institute conducted a survey among 559 organizations in more than 62 countries, covering 14 different industries, to look at the impact of this year’s natural and manmade occurrences that have caused supply chain disruptions worldwide. Overall, 85% of the companies reported at least one supply chain disruption. Twenty percent of the occurrences were attributed to the earthquakes or tsunamis in Japan and New Zealand; fifty-one percent were attributed to adverse weather; and forty-one percent were attributed to IT or telecommunications outages.
Exclusion provisions in a policy work to limit the range of coverage by restricting certain events or losses; often serving as a basis to deny a claim. Nevada case law has long held the burden is on the insured to prove a claim falls within the scope of coverage, and the insurer bears the burden to prove the applicability of an exclusion. However, for the first time the Supreme Court for the State of Nevada was faced with the question of who bears the burden to prove an exception to a policy’s exclusion provision, essentially restoring coverage.1 Continue Reading Nevada Insureds Bear Burden of Proving Exceptions to Exclusion Provisions
The genesis for this post is a jury trial that Merlin Law Group attorneys Mike Duffy, Jon Bukowski, and Larry Bache recently won. Jon Bukowski sent me a transcript of the closing arguments with a comment about Mike Duffy’s closing being “the best.” Continue Reading Insurance Company Lawyer Tells Jury Insurance Companies Cannot Be Expected to Know Building Codes
A recent Louisiana case1 demonstrates the difficulty of interpreting deductibles when sub-limits of a peril apply. The case is significant because many high limit commercial policies have similar deductible clauses, which courts have found ambiguous and afforded the policyholder a much greater recovery. Continue Reading Deductibles Can Be Confusing and Ambiguous
In a Puerto Rico Hurricane Michael case involving a Zurich Insurance Company providing a policy to a Louisiana policyholder, an alleged delayed payment resulted in attorneys for Zurich arguing that they could delay owed payments for various excuses. The first issue was what a proof of loss meant under Louisiana law. Continue Reading Proof Of Loss is Different Under Louisiana Law—Should You Be Insured by a Slow and Underpaying Insurance Company?
I was speaking with an attorney from Jefferson Parish in Louisiana about Hurricane Laura claims. He told me that the word that best fit insurance company payments for that storm is “putrid.” If that is the case, insurance companies that wrongfully delay payment of claims in Louisiana for greater than thirty days can be subject to an automatic penalty. Continue Reading Insurance Companies Have 30 Days to Pay or Be Subject to Penalties in Louisiana
We are happy to share with the insurance world a very positive development on COVID-19 Business Interruption cases – from Orange County, a conservative jurisdiction. The credit for this victory goes to our friends at Covington & Burling LLP, who we have been working closely with to advance justice for policyholders. A special shout-out is owed to Rani Gupta, Joan Li, David Goodwin, and Jad Khazem for this win, as the specific allegations of physical alteration were the driving force behind the victory and are instructive for future success. Continue Reading Court Rules in Favor of Goodwill on COVID-19 Business Interruption Matter
Insurance has been woven into the tapestry of human society dating back to ancient times. At its core, an insurance policy is a contract of indemnity between an insurance company and an insured. The policy is subject to the same rules that govern other contracts unless those rules are specifically modified by statute.1 Continue Reading Interpreting Insurance Contracts in Florida
The Certified Question: On July 2, 2020, a Ninth Circuit court of Appeals panel certified the following three-part question to the Nevada Supreme Court:
The case out of which this certified question arises is Zurich American Insurance Co. v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company.1 Continue Reading Who Has the Burden to Prove an Exception to an Exclusion of Coverage in an Insurance Policy?