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. A typical criminal act exclusion states that there is no coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of any criminal act. Typically the exclusion applies regardless of whether the insured is actually charged with or convicted of a …
In a recent decision, South Carolina Ins. Reserve Fund v. East Richland County Public Service Dist., 2016 WL 1125810 (S.C. App., filed 3/23/16), the Court found that the release of offensive odors constituted a pollutant because the odors involved gas …
Generally, stacking is defined “as an insured’s ability to obtain multiple insurance coverage benefits for an injury either from more than one policy, as where the insured has two or more separate vehicles under separate policies, or from multiple coverages …
The Kentucky Supreme Court has reviewed numerous attempts by insurance companies to limit the time in which insureds have to bring UM and UIM claims. As a result of these prior considerations, the Kentucky Supreme Court has emphasized that insurance …
There are two principal viewpoints on when a UM/UIM claim accrues for purposes of triggering a limitations period. The majority view holds that the accrual date is triggered upon the insurance company’s breach of the insurance contract as opposed to …
For purposes of an intentional injury exclusion, the intent to cause injury may be established by proof of actual intent to injure or when the character of the act is such that an intention to inflict the injury can be …
Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage typically involves three classes of insureds. The named insured, including residents of the household, typically qualify for Class I insured status. Class I insured status is a portable type coverage and is not dependent …
Standard liability policies typically contain an exhaustion clause that establishes that the primary insurer’s duty to defend terminates upon the payment of the insurer’s policy limits through a formal settlement or satisfaction of judgment of claims asserted against the insured. …
It is well known that courts require insurers to defend their insured if there is any possibility that coverage may potentially exist. Under New York law, the duty to defend is triggered whenever the allegations of a complaint, liberally construed, …
The Supreme Court of Vermont recently demonstrated in Whitney v. Vermont Mutual Ins. Co., 2015 VT 140, 2015 WL 8540432 (filed Dec. 11, 2015) a practical approach to the application of an absolute pollution exclusion. The case facts involved a …