Archives: Insurance Coverage

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Consistency not a concern for insurers fighting COVID-19 business loss claims, but policyholders can take advantage of divergent coverage positions

By David E. Weiss, Adrienne N. Kitchen and Andrew Barrios on Posted in Insurance Coverage
Under standard property policies, insurers are broadly claiming that the pollution exclusion applies to bar coverage for losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the insurer in Essentia Health v. ACE American Insurance Company, which involved a Premises Pollution Liability Portfolio Insurance Policy, made the precise opposite argument. Essentia alleged that COVID-19 was a covered … Continue Reading

FCA v. Arch and others – The UK Supreme Court’s final word on business interruption insurance losses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

By Peter Hardy, Margaret Campbell, Mark Pring, Laura-May Scott, Catherine Lewis, Emily McMahan, Charlotte Stewart-Jones and Thomas Morgan on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Property Damage & Business Interruption
The United Kingdom Supreme Court (UKSC) handed down its judgment on 15 January 2021 in The Financial Conduct Authority v. Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and Others. This test case was brought by the FCA on behalf of SME business interruption (BI) policyholders who have suffered financial losses as a result of COVID-19. The High Court … Continue Reading

D&O insurance basics (Part 2)

By Andy Moss and Carolyn Rosenberg on Posted in Commercial General Liability, D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General
Directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) insurance protects the personal assets of corporate directors and officers in the event of a lawsuit or other “claim” made against them for, among other things, an alleged breach of their duties in managing the organization.  D&O insurance directly covers individual directors and officers for their defense costs, judgments against … Continue Reading

D&O insurance basics (Part 1)

By Carolyn Rosenberg and Andy Moss on Posted in D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Uncategorized
This is the first of two posts discussing several major aspects of directors’ and officers’ liability (“D&O”) insurance coverage.  Companies approaching a policy renewal deadline, looking to place D&O insurance for the first time, considering increasing the size or structure of an existing D&O insurance program, or otherwise evaluating their overall risk management strategy may … Continue Reading

COVID-19 event cancellation insurance – good news and bad news

By Mark Pring, Elizabeth F. Vieyra and Anthony B. Crawford on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General
A concert promoter cancels a sold-out show of a world-renowned recording artist, reimbursing millions of dollars in ticket sales as a result.  If the reason for the cancellation was COVID-19, does insurance cover that? Event Cancellation Insurance Basics Event cancellation insurance generally provides coverage only when there has been a triggering event under the policy.  … Continue Reading

Join us for an on-demand webinar “What policyholders really need to know about insurance for COVID-19”

By Elizabeth F. Vieyra on Posted in Commercial General Liability, D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Property Damage & Business Interruption, Uncategorized
Reed Smith Insurance Recovery partners John Shugrue, John Ellison, Amber Finch, Richard Lewis, and Matthew Weaver offer discussion and analysis on key issues relevant to businesses seeking, or evaluating whether to seek, coverage for COVID-19 losses. This webinar is available on demand and you can register here. Here’s a brief summary of the topics addressed in … Continue Reading

Pollution exclusion should not preclude coverage for virus-related claims

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Construction Coverage, Corporate and Transactional Insurance Coverage, Cyberliability, D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Financial Insurance Coverage, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance Insolvency & Regulatory, Insurance News of Note, London/Bermuda Arbitrations, Property Damage & Business Interruption, Uncategorized
Faced with mounting claims for insurance coverage as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, commercial insurers are likely to search for any policy provision that they think will enable them to avoid paying virus-related claims.  One provision that insurers ultimately may invoke in an attempt to deny such claims is the so-called “pollution … Continue Reading

Are you covered? Cannabis industry must prepare for cyberattacks in 2020

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Cyberliability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
Experian Data Breach Resolution (Experian) has identified its “top data breach trends of 2020,” and the cannabis industry should take note. In its “Data Breach Industry Forecast 2020,” Experian predicts that “we will see many burgeoning industries, such as cannabis retailers, cryptocurrency entities, and even some environmental organizations targeted for cyberattacks as a result of … Continue Reading

Raccoons as legal roadkill: The Western District of Pennsylvania denies coverage for damage caused by masked bandits

By Mike Sampson and Kateri Persinger on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note, Property Damage & Business Interruption
Reviewing philosopher Mark Rowlands’ 2012 work Can Animals Be Moral?, Jessica Pierce wrote in the Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, “The question, ‘Can animals be moral?’ has suffered the worst kind of philosophical denial: an almost complete lack of interest by ‘serious’ philosophers.” No longer.  In an effort to apply “general canon[s] of contract interpretation,” the … Continue Reading

Will your EPLI policy cover “wage and hour” claims in the wake of the California Court of Appeal’s decision in Southern California Pizza?

By Lilit Asadourian, Maisie McDonald and Lavinia S. Osilesi on Posted in Employment Practices Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance News of Note
It has long been acknowledged that typical Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies exclude coverage for “wage and hour” claims.[1] [2]  However, a recent California Court of Appeal decision, Southern California Pizza Co., LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London Subscribing to Policy Number 11EPL-20208,[3] narrows the definition of what is a wage and hour … Continue Reading

In historic vote, U.S. House passes SAFE Banking Act; but, what will U.S. Senate do?

By Mike Sampson and Zachary S. Roman on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
In a historic moment, the U.S. House of Representatives, yesterday, voted 321 to 103 in favor of H.R.1595, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019, also known as the “SAFE Banking Act.”  If ultimately enacted into law, this legislation would provide insurers, as well as banks and other institutions, a “safe harbor” to … Continue Reading

Review state cannabis regulations for insurance requirements

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
Like any business, a business operating in the U.S. cannabis industry needs both first-party and third-party liability insurance.  Unlike other types of businesses, however, a cannabis-related business’ insurance needs may be dictated at least in part by state regulations.  Although not every state that has legalized cannabis for medical and/or adult use has promulgated specific … Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence: The New Frontier for Assessing Insurance Coverage

By Emily Garrison, Andy Moss, Cristina Shea and Shruti Engstrom on Posted in Cyberliability, D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
U.S. and international businesses are accelerating their use of artificial intelligence (AI)[1] at an unprecedented rate. The second AI Index Report published in December 2018 by a Stanford University-led group concluded that “AI activity is increasing nearly everywhere and technological performance is improving across the board.” The AI Index Report further found that “the number … Continue Reading

Self-insured retentions are not a windfall for excess insurers looking to avoid coverage

By David E. Weiss, Cristina Shea and Connor O'Carroll on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General
In Deere & Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2019 WL 912151 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 25, 2019), a California Court of Appeal recently held that an insured’s self-insured retention (SIR)[1] was considered part of the underlying limit of liability such that it need not be satisfied again and again just to access excess insurance policies. … Continue Reading

Lightening the load: New York Appellate Division rejects heightened pleading standard for policyholders seeking Bi-Economy Market consequential damages

By Ann Kramer, Paul Breene, John Berringer, Rich Lewis and Anthony B. Crawford on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
In a recent unanimous decision, the Appellate Division First Department provided clarity on the pleading requirements for policyholders seeking special or consequential damages allowed under the landmark decision of Bi-Economy Market v. Harleysville Insurance Company of New York, 856 N.Y.S.2d 505 (N.Y., Feb. 19, 2008). Under Bi-Economy, policyholders may seek special or consequential damages resulting … Continue Reading

Federal court’s E-Cig decision provides cautionary tale

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
Every policyholder in every industry should make sure that it in fact has obtained insurance covering the actual, specific risks presented by its line of business. That point is the critical one driven home by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in United Specialty Insurance Company v. E-Cig Vapor Emporium, LLC, … Continue Reading

Federal crop insurance grows: Hemp to be covered

By Mike Sampson and Adam D. Brownrout on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
Federal crop insurance will soon be available for hemp.  The federal Agriculture Improvement Act (H.R. 2) (the Act) – which has been approved by both houses of Congress and is now just awaiting the president’s signature – will amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act, 7 U.S.C. §1501, et seq., so that hemp will be a … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court rules broadly in favor of insureds

By Kerry Roberson and David E. Weiss on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General
On Monday, June 4, 2018, the California Supreme Court ruled that an insurance company must provide liability coverage to its corporate insured against claims of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of its employee, who allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old child. The case is Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp. v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction Co., Inc., Case … Continue Reading

CannaBeware: Make sure insurance actually covers the risks your business faces

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Corporate and Transactional Insurance Coverage, D&O, E&O, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note, Property Damage & Business Interruption
It should go without saying that when a business purchases any insurance policy – including, but not limited to, a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy – the business expects the policy to provide coverage for its line of business and the specific risks it faces. Cannabis-related businesses are no different. However, they must be … Continue Reading

Final Mass. “adult-use” marijuana regulations require “Marijuana Establishments” to have liability insurance

By Mike Sampson and Kristy L. Keiser on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
As part of its “adult-use” marijuana regulations, which are expected to take effect next week, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will require that “Marijuana Establishments” – which include cultivators, manufacturers, and retailers – procure commercial liability insurance in established amounts. Massachusetts’ new regulations are the most recent reminder that cannabis-related businesses must be aware of state regulations and their … Continue Reading

Ten important steps a cannabusiness should consider when purchasing insurance

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General
Purchasing insurance for a cannabusiness can feel like a daunting task, but it does not have to be one. In addition to grappling with many of the same issues and questions that any business confronts when seeking insurance, a cannabusiness encounters certain additional, unique challenges due to the industry in which it operates. That is … Continue Reading

Should the Cannabis Industry Fear the Sixth Circuit and K.V.G.?

By Mike Sampson on Posted in Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note, Property Damage & Business Interruption
Although any case has the potential to go sideways, the appeal in K.V.G. Properties, Inc. v. Westfield Insurance Company – which involves a policyholder’s right to insurance coverage for property damaged by a third party’s marijuana growing operation – should not be cause for alarm in the cannabis industry. As driven home by the opening … Continue Reading

Recent New York decision offers hope for long-overdue end to Resolute’s free pass

By Mike Sampson, Ann Kramer, Paul Breene and George L. Stewart, II on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
In a promising development for policyholders, a New York state trial court recently signaled a potential end to the free pass courts often have provided to third-party claims administrators (TPAs), such as Resolute Management, Inc. (Resolute), that has enabled TPAs to act with near impunity when handling or adjusting claims on behalf of their insurer clients. … Continue Reading

“Myopic” ruling limits policyholders’ ability to recover for common law bad faith in West Virginia

By Mike Sampson and Jorge Rojas on Posted in Commercial General Liability, Construction Coverage, Insurance Coverage, Insurance General, Insurance News of Note
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has made it harder for policyholders to prevail on claims of common law bad faith against insurers in that state. In State of West Virginia ex rel. State Auto Property Insurance Companies v. Stucky, No. 17-0257, 2017 WL 4582607 (W. Va. Oct. 10, 2017), West Virginia’s highest … Continue Reading
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