On March 7, 2025, the California Department of Insurance issued Bulletin 2025-7, which provides crucial guidance on the handling of smoke damage claims for properties affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. This bulletin clarifies the Department’s position on insurance coverage for smoke damage and outlines the expectations for insurers in processing these claims. The bulletin
In its judgment in Sky UK Ltd v Riverstone Managing Agency Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 1567 the Court of Appeal has provided welcome clarification on several key issues relating to policy interpretation.
Background
Sky engaged Mace as the main contractor for its new headquarters under a Design and Build Contract. Mace was a named insured
Introduction
Judge Corley’s (N.D. Cal.) January 10, 2025 decision in Bottega, LLC v. National Surety Corporation provides guidance for commercial policyholders who have closed down their businesses due to wildfires, smoke, ash and soot that is especially timely given the ongoing wildfires in Southern California. The decision highlights the complexities of business interruption insurance claims, distinguishes
Reed Smith represented Tyson International Company Limited in obtaining a permanent anti-suit injunction against London market reinsurer, GIC Re, and successfully resisting the reinsurer’s application for a stay under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996. The judgment was handed down on 21 January 2025, and you can read it in full here: Tyson International
In the midst of the devastating and ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, on January 9, 2025, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued the 2025 Annual Notice on behalf of the California Department of Insurance (DOI). The 2025 Annual Notice highlights what Commissioner Lara describes as “the most significant California laws pertaining to property insurance policies, including those
The wildfires in Los Angeles, including the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Runyon Canyon fires, are fast-moving, destructive, and scary. As of the evening of January 8, 2025, they have caused extensive damage and led to the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents. The Palisades Fire has burned 18 square miles, the Eaton Fire 16.5 square
Earlier this year, in Gregory v. Safeco Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Colorado addressed the question whether, under Colorado law, the notice-prejudice rule should apply to first-party property insurance claims under occurrence-based, homeowners’ insurance policies. 545 P.3d 942 (Colo. 2024). In a thoughtful and lengthy opinion, the Supreme Court adopted the rule by
When the COVID-19 Pandemic incepted, and issues arose as to whether affected policyholders could seek Business Income and Civil Authority coverage from the presence or suspected presence of SARS-CoV-2 and consequent orders of Civil Authority, I thought that the easiest question to answer was whether such policyholders had suffered physical loss or damage (“PLOD”) to
Introduction
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision in ECB USA, Inc. v. Chubb provides several important lessons for corporate policyholders faced with potential coverage issues arising from their consulting or professional services.
The issue in ECB was whether Chubb’s professional services liability policy applied to claims against an accounting firm for a faulty
In what is described as the largest cyber loss event in years, on Friday, July 19, 2024, customers of CrowdStrike and many others throughout the world discovered that they could not access critical software and enterprise systems to run their businesses.
The mass outage was due to a defective CrowdStrike software update. The outage notably