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
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
Recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania gave policyholders another victory in the continuing battle with insurers over application of the “multiple trigger” doctrine. In Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance Co. v. Johnson Matthey, Inc., the Commonwealth Court held that the multiple-trigger approach – which expands the number of policies potentially available to provide coverage for long-tail … Continue Reading
On October 14th, Vice Chancellor Leo E. Strine, Jr. of the Delaware Court of Chancery blew some much needed fresh air into New York allocation jurisprudence. The Viking Pump consolidated cases, C.A. 1465-VCS, have already yielded very interesting and thoughtful rulings on the transfer of insurance in connection with complicated corporate transactions. Viking Pump, Inc. v. Liberty … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court handed a win to Travelers (and indirectly to chapter 11 debtors using insurance proceeds to fund bodily injury trusts), getting Travelers out of further liability arising from its actions “related to” its role as the primary insurer of Johns-Manville. These were not suits seeking proceeds of the insurance policies issued … Continue Reading
