“An” insured does not equal “the” insured in any policy; however, carriers like to broaden the meaning of “an” insured in the BAP care, custody or control exclusion to make it equal to “the” insured so it can deny claims that should not be denied. You may have experienced this in your own office.
Although it seems reasonable that the carrier’s duty to defend ends when no insurable allegations remain in the suit – this is not necessarily always true. Some courts have a different opinion as to when an insurance carrier’s duty to defend ends. In some cases, the insurer has been required to defend insureds when NO…
Attorney Randy Maniloff introduces us to the difference between “the” insured and “an” or “any” insured in the insurance policy. Many ignore these little words (“the,” “an” or “any”) in the policy, but, as Randy states, policy language is king, and these seemingly innocuous words have an amazing affect on coverage.
Valued policy laws require the insurance carrier to pay the face amount of the policy if the structure is a “total loss.” In these situations, it does not matter if the replacement cost is less than the face amount. This article links to a list of states with valued policy laws and the particulars of…
Record flu seasons often garner heavy media attention. When any strain of the flu is in the news, whether it be Swine flu, Bird flu or 2018’s H3N2 strain the question is often asked, “Is flu compensable under workers’ compensation?” This article discusses what is required for an illness to be compensable under workers’ compensation.
Proprietary coverage forms are not always better than Insurance Services Office (ISO) forms. Careful comparison is required to confirm the insured is not harmed by non-ISO language. A recent Illinois district court ruling highlights an incidence where ISO’s Personal and Advertising Injury wording may be broader and better for the insured.
Generally, an insurer’s duty to defend flows from the facts alleged in the lawsuit. When the pleadings alleged damage or injury that is covered by the policy, the insurance carrier has a duty to defend, regardless of whether the insured is ultimately liable and/or the insurer has a duty to indemnify. Conversely, when the pleadings…
Workers’ compensation, as a coverage, is simple. A worker gets hurt, the work comp policy pays – theoretically; that’s the simple part. The more complicated areas of workers’ compensation involve the state laws and legal doctrines applicable to workers’ comp. Two key areas of confusion are how many different types of employees are there and…
The concept of actual cash value (ACV) is far more complicated than “replacement cost minus physical depreciation.” In fact, the meaning of replacement cost differs based on the state. To further complicate the “problem” with defining ACV is whether or not labor is depreciable. Again, the answer differs based on the state in which the…
Insurance carriers may now have boundaries by which the “absolute” pollution exclusion can be applied, at least in Washington state. But the boundaries are pretty well laid out by two different court decisions based on efficient proximate cause. This article links to other pollution exclusion articles as well.
