It seems that some judges believe that insurance is an entitlement rather than a contract that can be interpreted beyond reason to provide benefits to victims of persons insured even if that person intentionally causes injury. In so doing they forget that insurance is a contract that provides indemnity only for fortuitous actions and can […]
Umpire Must Be Unbiased Appraisal awards are almost impossible to set aside. However, if it is shown that the umpire is biased or even has a potential for bias, the award can be set aside. In Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Omni Health Solutions, LLC, — S.E.2d —, 2015 WL 4034465 (Ga.App., 7/2/2015) the question […]
Insured May Effectively Waive Subrogation Subrogation is an equitable remedy where an insurer that pays to indemnify its insured will be able to step into the shoes of the insured and sue any tortfeasor who is responsible for the property damage that its policy of insurance was required to indemnify its insured because of the […]
In an unusually brief, succinct and intelligent decision the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal interpreted an insurance contract, called a financial institution bond, as it was written in First Nat. Bank of Northern California v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., — Fed.Appx. —, 2015 WL 2225044 (C.A.9 (Cal.) 5/11/15). First National Bank of Northern California […]
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) was created by the state of Florida to deal with wind damage claims from the annual damage caused by hurricanes passing through the state that standard, for-profit, insurers were unwilling to risk. To limit the liability of the state funded insurer the Florida Legislature granted Citizens immunity from most suits […]
Insurance policies are said to give everything in large print and take it away in fine print. That canard is no longer true since all modern policies are written in common language and each part of the policy is written in the same size print with headings even larger. However, insurance policies provide coverage for […]
Insurance brokers, who represent the insured to transact insurance with, but not on behalf of, an insurer often will try to make the process easy for the insured by filling out the application before asking the insured to sign it. It is a practice fraught with danger that can cause the insured to have no […]
It is almost common for a plaintiff who gets a large judgment against a tortfea- sor that cannot be collected to enter into an agreement with the defendant to not execute upon the judgment in exchange for an assignment of the defen- dant’s claims against its insurer. It is unusu- al, however, for the insurer […]
Defense Can’t Be Avoided by Use of Limine Motions The duty to defend owed by an insurer is very broad and requires an insurer to defend even if there is only a potential for coverage on the facts of the case and the policy wording. Usually, an order denying a motion for summary judgment seeking […]
Uberrimae Fidei Allows Voidance of Marine Insurance Policy Insurance has, from its inception, been an agreement requiring utmost good faith by both parties to the contract of insurance. As used in maritime insurance failure of an insured to deal in the utmost good faith with its insurer allows the insurer to void the insurance. A […]
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