This article was originally published in The John
Liner Review, Volume 24, Number 1; Spring 2010.
A reservation of rights letter can pit insurer vs. insured when
coverage is uncertain.
It all starts with a simple contract. Insurance Company sells a
policy promising to defend Policyholder against, and pay damages
for, certain claims filed against Policyholder. Plaintiff then
files claims against Policyholder. Policyholder notifies Insurance
Company of the claim. Insurance Company then defends the claim and
pays damages settled upon or awarded by a court. That's the
deal; that's the contract....
Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author.
Liability insurers, especially those involved in leaky building claims, can breathe a sigh of relief at the Court of Appeal's decision in Lumley General Insurance v Body Corporate 205963 and Leuschke Group Architects Limited (In Liquidation).
The recent High Court case of Devcich v AMI Insurance Limited provides an important reminder to insurers of how difficult it is to prove that the insured has caused the damage claimed.
The Principal Claims Assessor currently holds the view that there is no distinction
between offers made under s 82(1) of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (the
Act) and offers not made under s 82(1).
As the egg recall from two egg producers in Iowa, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, Inc. and Wright County Egg, continues to unfold (a half a billion eggs at this writing), affected downstream purchasers should consider the availability of insurance coverage for resulting losses.
Reliance, or transaction causation, is a significant element in a securities fraud case. But proving reliance by individual investors in a securities class action is often a cumbersome endeavor that may overwhelm the questions of law or fact common to the proposed class, and may therefore serve to preclude class certification.
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation of its own initiative into whether certain provisions accompanying claim-sharing and joint-reinsurance agreements in the marine insurance sector infringe the competition rules.
Many businesses have already been adversely affected by the massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, and many more will be soon as the contamination intensifies and spreads.
On 26th July 2010 Clyde & Co LLP published an article setting out the new Iran sanctions that had been adopted by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council.
Recently, the Associated Press reported that the New York State Attorney General has served subpoenas on two major multi-national life insurers as part of that office's inquiry into those companies policies for paying death benefits to life insurance policyholders' beneficiaries.
