One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2015 is to post more regularly to this blog. It was a very busy 2014, especially the second half of the year, and I have not been able to provide updates as frequently as I would like. So before we ring in the new year, let’s review some …
I have written about the insurance law concept of “trigger” several times before, most recently in the context of the Middle District of Florida’s decision in Axis Surplus Insurance Co. v. Contravest Construction Co., 921 F. Supp.2d 1338 (M.D. Fla. 2012). An Insurance Law Florida reader from Colorado recently asked for an update on Florida …
Coverage disputes frequently arise when claims contain some elements of damage that are covered and some that are not. The general rule in the duty-to-defend context is clear: where some allegations against a policyholder are potentially covered by the policy, the insurer must defend the entire action. This is often called the “in for a …
This April 9, 2012 decision (Great American Fidelity Insurance Co. and Great American E&S Insurance Co. v. JWR Construction Services Inc. and Gulf Reflections Condominium Association, No. 10-61423 (S.D. Fla. April 9, 2012)) by Judge Huck of the Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale) is interesting for several reasons. The declaratory judgment action was filed …
The Eleventh Circuit recently issued a lengthy opinion in Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co. v. Auchter Co., No. 10-10960 (11th Cir. Mar. 15, 2012) (“Auchter”), in which it dove back into insurance coverage issues involving construction defects. Unlike the Florida Supreme Court decisions in United States Fire Ins. Co. v. J.S.U.B., Inc., 979 So. 2d 871 (Fla. 2007) (“J.S.U.B.”), …
It’s time to get back to my list of Top 10 Commercial Insurance Myths and Misconceptions. Today we discuss misconception #3: Fraud Claims Are Not Covered. This issue most frequently arises in the D&O insurance context, which I discuss below, but it arises in other contexts as well. Many types of claims, including general liability, …
A Florida House panel yesterday voted to scrap HB 427, the so-called bad faith reform bill that has been repeatedly rejected in various forms in the Florida House and Senate in recent years. Read the Orlando Sentinel’s story on the issue here. The basic premise of HB 427 and similar bills is to restrict bad …
Insurance companies often are first out of the box to file a declaratory judgement action concerning coverage. Many times the goal of the insurer is to cut off its duty to defend its policyholder in a pending liability lawsuit. Because the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify, to successfully avoid its coverage …