Bad Faith Update Newsletter

With very limited exceptions, liability policies provide insureds with two primary benefits: a defense paid for by the insurance carrier and indemnity for covered claims. These benefits to the insured are purchased with premium dollars and remain available if the insured complies...

Supplemental Payments provisions are present in almost every liability policy. These provisions generally detail the insurer's responsibility for interest and costs awarded in suits that it has undertaken to defend. Litigation surrounding these provisions usually involves t...

Following a coverage denial, many jurisdictions permit insureds and claimants to enter into covenants not to execute and to enforce a resulting judgment against the insurer if coverage is shown to exist. Insurers often argue that the insured has suffered no damages as the insured...

The vast majority of extra-contractual/bad faith cases involve a carrier's failure to secure a release of an insured by accepting a reasonable settlement opportunity within the policy limits. The absence of a reasonable settlement opportunity may complicate proof requiremen...

Claims Made and Reported policies are their own animal. Proper reporting of claims is vital to ensure coverage for any loss. Knowing what constitutes a "claim" that must be reported and when and how to report the claim can be challenging. Apparently these challenges exist even fo...

Over the past five plus years, the Missouri legislature has continued to grant insurer's new rights and protections. This includes requirements for time-limited demands, interpleader protections and the ability to intervene into certain actions brought against insureds even...

In states that haven't passed safe harbor legislation, multiple claimants and insufficient limit claims pose certain challenges to insurers in the claims handling stage. Numerous claimants competing for severely limited policy limits creates numerous conflicts and can...

​Insurance laws may vary slightly between jurisdictions but major principles are nearly uniform. These include requirements that an insurer should draft clear and unambiguous exclusions and should identify and fully inform the insured of the basis for a coverage issue promptly. &...

​With increasing frequency, insurers are challenging the sufficiency and clarity of settlement demands they failed to previously accept. The insurer's challenges can take many forms but most focus on a demand not being written formal demand, not complying with an inap...