Published on:

by

Subcontractor default insurance (SDI) was created more than twenty years ago. Despite its relatively recent vintage, SDI is now offered by multiple insurers and is quickly replacing traditional subcontractor payment and performance bonds as a go-to option on large-scale construction projects. SDI has many benefits that surety bonds don’t. We’ll be going into this in substantial detail at our Fourth Annual Subcontractor Default Insurance Forum that Pillsbury co-presents, along with our friends at Willis Towers Watson, in Scottsdale in May. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by and

Spring brings warmer weather and a welcome return to green after winter gray. But spring can sometimes go too far, with rain that escalates into destructive floods. As floodwaters recede and cleanup begins, small-floodobtaining insurance proceeds and FEMA assistance are critical and immediate steps to recovery. The following practices can help maximize your recovery. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

Houdini managed an escape from a straight jacket while suspended 40 feet in the air. But that trick turned out to be easier than a primary insurer’s recent attempt to escape its duty to defend in California. In Underwriters of Interest Subscribing to Policy No. A15274001 v. ProBuilders Specialty Ins. Co., Case No. D066615, Ct. App. Dist. 4, Oct. 23, 2015 (Underwriters), the California Court of Appeal ruled that an “other insurance” clause in a CGL policy that purported to eliminate an insurer’s duty to defend if another insurer picked up the defense was unenforceable. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

Acquiring adequate insurance coverage against environmental risks, in particular the spill or release of pollutants or contaminants in day-to-day operations, is important to many construction businesses confronting the requirements of environmental regulation. For example, EPA’s hazardous waste rules require permittees (at both the state and federal level) to demonstrate financial responsibility for the operations of these facilities, including site closure and post-closure care, and coverage for sudden and accidental discharges. This requirement can be satisfied by proof of acceptable insurance coverageInsurance-300x168. In addition, having such insurance often assists companies facing the challenge of an extensive and prolonged Superfund cleanup. Many courts have ruled that the receipt of a Superfund Notice Letter from EPA triggers the responsibility of the insurer to provide the coverage in the policy. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

The universe of insurers still available to pay long-tail liability claims (e.g., asbestos, pollution, and other health hazards) is getting smaller every year. Significant domestic insurers like The Home, Midland and Mission declared bankruptcy years ago. Significant London Market companies continue to fade away, depriving policyholders with historic London Market policies of the opportunity to fully collect upon claims made and satisfied under those policies. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

California’s Supreme Court has closed a loophole of its own creation. The 12-year-old Henkel decision—which permitted insurers to avoid liability for losses when the insured subsequently assigned its policy rights to another entity—has been overruled. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by and

In Texas and other states, the mineral owner can freely use the surface estate to the extent reasonably necessary for the exploration, development and production of oil and gas. That includes activities such as building roads, drilling wells and transporting equipment and personnel. But frustrated property owners are incrIllustration of three oil rigs in the deserteasingly bringing nuisance claims based on bright lights, loud noises, traffic, dust, odors, wastewater and other effects of these activities.  A question facing the oil and gas industry is whether the costs of such nuisance claims are covered by insurance.

Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

Businesses have been warned before about mandatory arbitration provisions proliferating in insurance policies, which require referral of coverage disputes to an arbitrator or arbitral panel and bar commencing civil lawsuits to resolve insurance coverage disputes. Other policies require the exhaustion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, such as mediation, before a coverage action may commence. On July 17, a federal judge in the Northern District of California enforced such an ADR provision against an insurer that sued its policyholder for a declaratory judgment on coverage.

Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

On June 4, 2015, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal issued a long ruling, resolving a number of partial summary judgment motions filed in the case of Exxon Mobil Corporation v. United States. Continue Reading ›

Published on:

by

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals recently held that whether “prompt” notice was given to an insurer of a claim occurring over three and a half years after a hurricane caused damages to a condominium is a question of fact that must be given to the jury. This ruling confirms that the date on which an insureds’ duty to report a claim is triggered under an insurance policy’s notice provision is an issue of fact not ripe for summary judgment. The case is Laquer v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Continue Reading ›