Insurance Law

Recent Posts

California Supreme Court to Address One of My Favorite Issues - “Use of an Auto”
Posted on 17 Nov 2015 by Randy J. Maniloff

Two Lewis Brisbois Lawyers Superbly Explain What’s At Stake I’ve always liked “use of an auto” cases – be they in the context of coverage under an auto policy or the auto exclusion in a general liability or homeowners... Read More

Jets And Sharks And Insurance Coverage: Judicial Writing At Its Finest
Posted on 15 Apr 2015 by Randy J. Maniloff

Forget whether you can tell a book by its cover (a lot of times you really can I think), I have long maintained that you can very often tell a coverage case by its opening paragraph. A recent one from the New Jersey Appellate Division has as good as a... Read More

Dentons on The Puzzle of Determining Damages in Florida UM/UIM Bad Faith Actions
Posted on 24 Nov 2014 by William T. Barker

By William T. Barker, Partner, Dentons US LLP A unusual Florida statute provides that damages for bad faith handling of an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim include "the total amount of the claimant's damages, including the amount in... Read More

Driverless Cars: The Real Insurance Issue
Posted on 23 Mar 2015 by Randy J. Maniloff

There has been a lot of talk lately about driverless cars. It has included when various manufacturers plan to introduce models with some driverless features (soon) and, more generally, longer-term predictions of when we’ll all be skootin’... Read More

“Warriors . . . come out to playyyyyy” (or "What Are The Insurance Implications Of Driving Your Mom's Car To A Street Fight?")
Posted on 7 May 2015 by Peter J. Gallagher

By Peter J. Gallagher ( @pjsgallagher ) One of the most ridiculously entertaining movies of the late-1970’s/early-1980’s was “ The Warriors .” You need to watch it to fully appreciate how ridiculous and entertaining it was... Read More

An Insurer Has the Right to Choose Who and What It Will Insure – Courts Will not Strain to Create an Ambiguity Where None Exists
Posted on 1 Oct 2015 by Barry Zalma

Since insurance is nothing more than a contract between an insurer and those the insurer is willing to insure, the insurer has the unquestioned right to decide who, for what, and in what limits it is willing to insure. If the insurer and insured agree... Read More

Never Bring a New Theory to Court of Appeal – Although Benefits Needed There Can Be No Insurance Coverage Without a Contract
Posted on 29 Sep 2015 by Barry Zalma

Shawn Halvorson (Halvorson) challenged the summary-judgment dismissal of his declaratory-judgment action involving a dispute over insurance coverage. In Halvorson v. From, 2015 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 809 (Minn.App.), [subscribers can access an enhanced... Read More

The Unfortunate Event Test Rules – Can’t Aggregate Three Accidents into One
Posted on 6 Oct 2015 by Barry Zalma

Insurance policy limits of liability can cause disputes between insurers and their insureds so that if there is one accident rather than three (even though the result from a single continuous and repeated exposure to the same general conditions) can limit... Read More

Automobile Policy’s Exclusion for Bodily Injury to “an Insured” Held Unenforceable and Against Public Policy With Regard to Injuries Sustained by a Non-Relative of the Named Insured
Posted on 29 Jan 2015 by Troutman Sanders

Mercury Cas. Co. v. Chu , 229 Cal. App. 4th 1432 (2014), [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ]. In Mercury , the California Court of Appeal held that an exclusion in an automobile policy for “bodily injury to an insured”... Read More

15 Minutes (Fifteen Seconds, Really) Could Have Saved The Gecko More Than 15% On Car Insurance
Posted on 26 Aug 2014 by Randy J. Maniloff

Coverage Opinions hardly ever addresses automobile or subrogation cases. Here I address both. But wait, stay with me. This is an interesting one. It also speaks to an overarching issue concerning how insurers treat policyholders in a certain claim setting... Read More

Auto Insurance Telematics Data Privacy And Ownership
Posted on 29 Jul 2015 by Mealeys

By Frederick J. Pomerantz and Aaron J. Aisen Introduction Data collection is the new normal in the 21st century. This extends from search engines to social media to consumer shopping habits. This also includes monitoring driving behavior and auto... Read More

A Horse is a Horse, of Course – A Horse is Not “Mobile Equipment”
Posted on 19 Aug 2015 by Barry Zalma

As Mr. Ed once said, cogently, “a horse is a horse, of course,” and it is nothing more. Although insurance terms and conditions can be interpreted to cover a multiple of sins, it cannot change the obvious. FACTS In the fall of 2006,... Read More

Crime Doesn’t Pay – Running Over Victim in the Course of a Robbery Is not an Accident
Posted on 12 Aug 2015 by Barry Zalma

Insurance, as I have said often, only insures against fortuitous events. If the event is either contingent or unknown it can be insured against. In Smith v. Patton , Slip Copy, 2015 Wisc. App. LEXIS 547 (Wis.App., July 2015), [subscribers can access... Read More

How to Lose Auto Coverage Without Trying – Insurable Interest Required for Coverage to Apply
Posted on 4 Aug 2015 by Barry Zalma

Insurance is a contract of personal indemnity. It does not insure cars or property of any kind but insures people against the risk of loss of their property. People who know nothing about insurance do not understand this essential insurance concept and... Read More

Court Holds That Labrador/Boxer Mix Is An Underinsured Motorist [Most Interesting Dog Bite Coverage Case Ever]
Posted on 1 Oct 2014 by Randy J. Maniloff

I love dog bite coverage cases. And there are a lot of them. So that’s a good thing. But that also means that there are a lot of dog bites. And since I also love dogs -- that’s not such a good thing. It’s a real double-edge sword. [As... Read More