Specialty Lines

  • April 24, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    California property owners affected by recent wildfires accused hundreds of insurers of collusion, Colorado's justices said no exception exists to the state's economic loss rule for willful and wanton conduct claims, and a California federal judge questioned insurers' bid to litigate coverage for injury claims against Meta in Delaware. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • April 24, 2025

    Pest Co.'s Ex-Employee Not Covered In Child Assault Suit

    An insurer for a pest control company needn't cover a suit alleging a former employee assaulted a minor whom he recruited to work at the business, a Mississippi federal court ruled, finding that neither the employee nor his insulation company is insured under any available insurance policy.

  • April 24, 2025

    Law Prof Pushes For Regulating Sustainability In Insurance

    Consumers should have more information about the sustainability features of their ordinary insurance products, but existing regulations in the United Kingdom and Europe don't encourage transparency or innovation of sustainable-minded products. Franziska Arnold-Dwyer, an associate law professor at University College London, spoke to Law360 about sustainability in insurance and her recent paper on the matter.

  • April 22, 2025

    Insurer Skirts Bad Faith Claim In $60M Liposuction Death Row

    The professional liability insurer for a Georgia cosmetic surgery provider didn't act in bad faith in handling a liposuction patient death claim that eventually led to a $60 million judgment, a Utah federal court ruled, rejecting arguments that the insurer breached its duties.

  • April 21, 2025

    Exclusion Bars Coverage For Trade Secrets Suit, Insurer Says

    An engineering firm's directors and officers insurer told a Nebraska federal court Monday it should owe no coverage for a settled lawsuit that accused the firm of conspiring to poach a rail contractor's employees and clients, citing an exclusion relating to the misappropriation of trade secrets.

  • April 21, 2025

    Justices Nix Appraiser's Petition Seeking Arbitral Immunity

    An insurance appraiser failed Monday to get the U.S. Supreme Court to define what "arbitration" actually means under the Federal Arbitration Act, seeking immunity after a Colorado state jury found he fraudulently inflated a $1.6 million appraisal award against a Travelers unit that was ultimately vacated.

  • April 21, 2025

    Calif. Homeowners Say Insurers Colluded To Limit Coverage

    California property owners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires accused over 300 insurers of conspiring to eliminate competition in the marketplace, forcing consumers to instead obtain fire insurance from the state's insurer of last resort, according to two lawsuits filed in state court.

  • April 21, 2025

    Insurers Clash Over Coverage In Racetrack Injury Suit

    Acuity Insurance LLC wants a Pennsylvania federal court to join two other insurers to its defense of a client accused of designing inadequate safety barriers at a Lancaster County raceway, claiming the other companies had wrongly declined coverage for subsidiaries of the insured.

  • April 17, 2025

    NC Justice Unsure Contractor Can Avoid Workers' Comp Payout

    A North Carolina Supreme Court justice seemed skeptical of a construction company's argument that a sheriff's department should cover the entire cost of a workers' compensation payout to a deputy injured while directing traffic on a bridge repair job, citing the court's precedent on the topic during an oral argument Thursday.

  • April 17, 2025

    Colo. FAIR Plan Gives Policyholders Options At A Cost

    Colorado launched the country's first new Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, or FAIR, Plan in 40 years to offer residents another tool in an increasingly challenging wildfire, hail and wind market, but experts emphasized that this limited form of coverage is not intended to address affordability concerns.

  • April 17, 2025

    Chancery Fast-Tracks Suits Targeting Reinsurance Offshoring

    A trio of Oxford Risk Management Group LLC reinsurance customers this week won fast-tracking of three Court of Chancery suits that raised multiple claims, including for treble damages, after ORMG declared that it had unilaterally transferred some of its U.S. accounts and exposures to an allegedly steeply undercapitalized, captive Bermuda reinsurer.

  • April 17, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Auto insurers can't shake feds' "forced coverage" claims, the Suquamish Tribe asks the U.S. Supreme Court not to weigh in on its COVID-19 coverage case, saying its court has jurisdiction, IBM wants coverage for $900 million in environmental expenses and Consumer Watchdog sues California's insurance chief over proposed post-wildfire insurance surcharges.

  • April 17, 2025

    Policyholders Must Prep For Hurdles In FCA Suits, Atty Says

    Policyholders face numerous coverage issues for underlying claims made under a federal law addressing fraud in government programs, including high states and unusual circumstances, said Lilit Asadourian, a policyholder-side attorney who has fought these issues in Delaware courts and beyond. Here, Asadourian tells Law360 how policyholders can anticipate and address coverage challenge in False Claims Act suits.

  • April 17, 2025

    General Aviation Insurance Stays Steady Through Turbulence

    The general aviation and airline insurance industry remains steady despite supply-chain concerns and a rise in accident rates. Here, Philip Stafford, a senior partner in Gallagher's aerospace division, shares his thoughts on the current state of this sector with Law360.

  • April 17, 2025

    Insurance Regulators Urged To Address Climate Change Risks

    Insurance regulators must strengthen their understanding of the threats posed by climate change and better consider how those risks will shape the stability of the sector, a group of international regulators said in a report.

  • April 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Late Settlement Notice Means No Coverage

    A healthcare company was rightfully denied coverage for a settlement over the erroneous approval of a Florida Medicaid recipient's out-of-state treatment, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled, finding the company breached its policy when it failed to inform its insurer of the agreement in advance.

  • April 15, 2025

    Massive Calif. Fire Assessment Pass-Through Sparks Suit

    Public interest nonprofit Consumer Watchdog sued California's insurance chief in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to stop him from allowing insurance companies to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in assessment costs as surcharges onto policyholders, claiming the decision was made without any public input, in violation of the state's Administrative Procedure Act. 

  • April 15, 2025

    SPAC Officers Seek Coverage For Post-Merger Lawsuits

    Beazley Insurance Co. and certain former directors and officers of a special purpose acquisition company that ultimately became a solar financing company accused the successor company in Delaware Chancery Court of failing to indemnify and advance costs they incurred in two cases stemming from the SPAC merger.

  • April 15, 2025

    Insurer Says Law Firm's $1.5M Cyber Loss Isn't Covered

    A law firm isn't owed additional coverage after hackers allegedly stole more than $1.5 million intended for an attorney who had partnered with the firm on a personal injury case, its cyber insurer said, asking a Washington federal court to dismiss the bulk of the claims.

  • April 15, 2025

    Public Roads, Public Data, Cos. Say Of Drivers' Privacy Claims

    General Motors, OnStar and other companies facing multidistrict litigation accusing them of collecting driving data and selling it without user consent have urged a Georgia federal court to dismiss the claims, arguing that driving data is public because driving happens on public roads.

  • April 15, 2025

    Nonprofit's Prior Loss Coverage Limited For Worker Theft

    A nonprofit cannot get more coverage from Auto-Owners Insurance Co. for an employee theft scheme that caused losses totaling roughly $554,000, a Kansas federal court ruled, interpreting the scope of a "prior loss provision" that covered losses occurring before the policy's coverage period.

  • April 14, 2025

    Auto Insurers Can't Shake Feds' Forced Coverage Claims

    A group of insurers will have to face the federal government's claims that they forced auto-loan customers to pay for unnecessary "collateral protection insurance" by setting an unreasonably high bar for proving the borrowers held other auto insurance policies, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday, concluding that the United States had satisfied pleading standards.

  • April 11, 2025

    Insurers Allowed To End Chemical Explosion Coverage Suit

    Insurers were allowed Friday to dismiss their case in Texas federal court against Team Industrial Services Inc. seeking to disclaim coverage for underlying suits filed against the company in connection with injuries from a 2021 explosion at a chemical plant.

  • April 10, 2025

    Rising Type Of M&A Coverage Can Limit Cyber Risk, Pros Say

    Conditions in the market for cyber insurance are positive for buyers, and insurance meant to protect against mergers and acquisitions improprieties can form a key part of transactions as cyber risks increase, industry and legal professionals said Thursday.

  • April 10, 2025

    Amazon Worker's Brother Denied Win In Life Insurance Fight

    The children of an Amazon worker can proceed with their claim that their uncle exercised "undue influence" to get named as a beneficiary on their father's life insurance plan, an Ohio federal judge said Thursday, noting the Employee Retirement Income Security Act did not preempt the allegations.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks

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    Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers

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    As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.

  • 3 AI Regulation Developments Insurers Must Follow

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    Insurance regulators continue to actively develop regulations and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, so insurers should be aware of recent developments from the Colorado Division of Insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the New York Department of Financial Services, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint

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    In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.

  • How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers

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    As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Unlocking Value In Carve-Out M&A Transactions

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    Some of the largest mergers and acquisitions in 2023 were carve-out transactions, and despite their unique intricacies and challenges, these transactions offer both buyers and sellers the opportunity to generate outsized returns in an otherwise vigorously competitive landscape, when carefully planned and diligently executed, say Kevin Crews and Rami Totari at Kirkland.

  • Tips For Negotiating Strong D&O Insurance Protection

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    D&O insurance is often the last line of defense for the personal assets of a director or officer, so taking the time to negotiate improvements to their D&O policies and ensuring that the coverage is appropriate for the insureds' risk profile can greatly improve the chances that their policies will protect them when they need coverage the most, says Thomas Bentz at Holland & Knight.

  • Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters

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    As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.

  • 3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law

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    There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How Del. 'Arising Out Of' Ruling May Affect Insurance Cases

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    The Delaware Supreme Court decision in Ace American Insurance v. Guaranteed Rate focused on a professional services exclusion, but the ruling has wide-ranging application in insurance coverage disputes involving any exclusions that employ "arising out of" or similar prefatory language, say Keith McKenna and Maria Brinkmann at Cohen Ziffer.

  • Assessing D&O Coverage Amid Challenges To DEI Policies

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    As the recent backlash against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies leads to shareholder litigation and other legal challenges, companies bolstering their DEI efforts should ensure that their directors and officers and employment practices' liability insurance policies provide sufficient coverage for potential claims, say Peter Gillon and Patrick Blood at Pillsbury.

  • Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon

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    A proposed regulation recently issued by the Nevada Division of Insurance would severely restrict the state's new law prohibiting burning-limits policies, enacting welcome changes to address businesses' concerns that the law will make it harder to obtain cost-effective liability insurance, says Sheri Thome at Wilson Elser.

  • How Reps And Warranties Insurance Can Aid Sellers In M&A

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    Amid the current slowdown in the M&A climate, representation and warranty insurance offers sellers a number of advantages, including protection against fraud and possible leverage to insist on a no-seller-indemnity deal, say Alex Leibowitz and Eric Jesse at Lowenstein Sandler.