The Texas Legislature this year adopted House Bill 1900, which amends the notice requirements for non-renewal and policy changes in Texas Insurance Code Section 551.105. The statutory changes, effective Sept. 1, increase the notice period from 30 days to 60 …
Ransomware attacks are on the rise. Cyber criminals continue to exploit lax security measures, which have become more acute in the work-from-home environment, and hack into companies’ systems, encrypt their data, and then demand multimillion-dollar ransoms. Though cyber insurance policies …
An insurer that paid to defend a policyholder against a lawsuit, but determined later that no coverage was owed, is entitled to reimbursement for its costs, a divided Nevada Supreme Court said. In a 4-3 decision on Thursday, the high …
In One Beacon America Insurance Co. v. Celanese Corp., 94 Mass. App. Ct. 382, 84 N.E.3d 867 (Mass. App. 2017), the Massachusetts Court of Appeals held that insurance companies have the right to control the defense of the insured after …
The Washington Court of Appeals recently found (Arden v. Forsberg & Umlauf, P.S., 193 Wash.App. 731, 373 P.3d 320 (2016)), on first impression, that insurer retained attorneys (defense attorneys) were not automatically prohibited from representing insureds merely because the defense …
Nicholas Fiocchi sued Ronald Zatyco for assaulting him after a verbal argument between them at a bar earlier the same evening. Fiocchi’s complaint in Pennsylvania state court attempted by artful pleading to capture Zatyco’s parents’ homeowners coverage, alleging that the …
For decades, California insurers have been told they have a duty to accept reasonable settlement demands within their policy’s limits. As the California Supreme Court emphasized in Johansen v. Cal. State Auto. Assn. Inter-Ins. Bureau, 15 Cal.3d 9, 16 (1975), …
The California Court of Appeals recently considered the question of when an insurer’s claim for reimbursement of defense costs is ripe. In Centex Homes v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 237 Cal.App.4th 23, 187 Cal.Rptr.3d 542 (4th Dist., …
Numerous jurisdictions have recognized an insured’s right to independent counsel where a conflict of interest exists between the insured and the insurance company (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New …
Since most insurance companies conduct business in multiple states, they tend to keep track of the general legal do’s and don’ts of claims handling. However, there are a few unique aspects of Arizona insurance law that companies and adjustors should …