When tackling complex coverage issues, we take pride in protecting our clients by providing high quality and responsive legal expertise aimed to help you succeed.
Counsel and Advise
Our Insurance Coverage Services team works with you through every step of the claim. Our attorneys:
- Work closely with insurance clients to develop risk avoidance strategies to reduce claims both for insureds and insurers;
- Investigate and identify available coverage when losses span decades or coverage forms are lost;
- Assist individual and business clients through review of purchased coverages to ensure desired protection is in place;
- Advise insureds as to their rights and responsibilities with respect to the full range of their coverage;
- Counsel insureds on the impact of insurance claims on their workers’ compensation experience modification; and
- Participate in difficult mediations, helping the insured and those seeking to recover through insurance understand the risk that coverage may not exist and to assist with the resolution of the underlying matter.
Policy Drafting
We have found that the best advice often comes before the claim occurs.
Our coverage attorneys pride themselves on helping clients avoid risk before it happens and meet regularly with their insurance clients to help draft clear coverage aimed at to avoiding unnecessary litigation where possible and helping to ensure the right results when inevitable litigation does occur. We have broad experience drafting and amending manuscript coverage including general liability, auto liability, first party property, professional liability, environmental liability, employment liability, cyber liability, drone coverage, crime liability and excess liability. In addition, we have amended standardized policies for accident and health coverage.
Prosecute and Defend
If litigation is inevitable in your claim, our experience sets us apart. We routinely:
- Interpret applicable insurance coverage and develop strategies aimed at understanding and implementing the client’s acute and long-term objectives;
- Rely on our tenured representation and unique understanding of local forums to achieve optimal results;
- Prosecute and defend declaratory judgment actions, including actions for fraud, reformation, allocation, contribution, bad faith and more;
- Understand and clearly communicate the nuances of insurance contracts in a manner that a jury can appreciate;
- Access our national network of coverage counsel to address multi-jurisdictional issues; and,
- Advise on and handle of coverage matters before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, an administrative body our firm is uniquely qualified to navigate given our role and reputation in North Carolina workers’ compensation bar.
Our Insurance Coverage Services team handles a broad range of complex insurance coverage issues, ranging from the drafting and interpretation of insurance policies to the investigation and assessment of available coverage under existing forms. We are frequently called upon to review and analyze coverage documents, prepare reliable coverage opinions and reservation of rights letters, and conduct examinations under oath. Our coverage attorneys have experience handling claims in the following industries: commercial general liability, auto, first party property, professional liability, trucking, products liability, fire loss, inland marine, cyber liability, drone coverage, employment practices liability, banking, law enforcement, accident and health and workers’ compensation.
Because every member of our coverage team is also a litigator, we stand ready and are highly capable of prosecuting or defending declaratory judgment actions, including those actions alleging bad faith and extra contractual liability. Every case and every client are different and we take care to handle each case with an understanding of our client’s immediate needs and long term goals. When necessary, we call on the collective and varied experience of the firm’s other well respected practice groups and employ a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure a complete understanding of the coverage at issue in the context of the underlying litigation.
With offices located in Raleigh and Asheville, our Insurance Coverage Services team is capable of handling a wide variety of insurance matters throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Matters referenced are for illustrative purposes only. They do not represent the firm’s entire record and past successes are not a guarantee of any future result or outcome.
- Successfully prosecuted declaratory judgment action after entry of default and incorporation of punitive damages in underlying matter.
- Obtained voluntary rescision from insured with regard to underlying products liability action after filing and prosecuting declaratory judgment action.
- Obtained dismissal of bad faith action in first party declaratory judgment action tried to jury verdict.
- Successfully reduced UM award from $2 million to $100,000 via successful appeal to the Court of Appeals.
- Investigated, negotiated, and litigated multiple cases involving multiple insurers over extended periods of loss and where competing coverages were at issue.
- Litigated numerous general liability, auto and UM/UIM claims and, in doing so, gained a practical understanding of the underlying matters associated with the applicable coverage.
Attorney Pete Dworjanyn Joins Teague Campbell’s Insurance Coverage Team
Teague Campbell is proud to welcome Pete Dworjanyn to the firm as a member of the insurance coverage team. Pete is licensed in South Carolina and has been handling insurance coverage matters for over 20 years. “We are excited to have Pete join our firm and expand our coverage practice,” said Bill Bulfer, Chair of…
Bill Bulfer Authors DRI Article Addressing The Role of Coverage Counsel in Resolving Risk – Trucking Edition
Author wbulfer View all posts
Attorney Bill Bulfer Authors DRI Article Addressing the Intersection of ESG and Insurable Risk
Author wbulfer View all posts
Deductible Policy Provisions: Potential Cost Savings for Employers
Author Teague Campbell View all posts
Who Has Jurisdiction on a Workers’ Compensation Bad Faith Claim in NC?
Author Teague Campbell View all posts
Cybersecurity for Municipalities: Insurance, Trends and Best Practices
Author binman View all posts
Out-of-State Workers’ Compensation Injuries: NC Jurisdiction and Insurance Coverage Implications
Author Teague Campbell View all posts
The Advantages of Retaining Coverage Counsel to Defend Insurance Agencies in Errors and Omissions Claims
Authors wbulfer View all posts mcook View all posts
Is the Force With You? Force Majeure Clauses, COVID-19 and Contracts
Author binman View all posts
COVID-19 Orders from the NC Department of Insurance Affecting Insurance Companies and Representatives
Authors calipio View all posts wbulfer View all posts
Policy Cancellation – a Mission Made More Impossible
Authors lfields View all posts Teague Campbell View all posts
Three Attorneys Contribute to the DRI Insurance Rescission Compendium
Authors cbritt View all posts wbulfer View all posts
January 31: NCBA Insurance Law “Back to the Basics” Program
Author Teague Campbell View all posts
Mixed Results In Appeal Of Civil Suit By Workers’ Compensation Insurer, Company Representatives
A recent civil case involving a workers’ compensation claim examines the bounds of third-party beneficiary status in North Carolina. Seguro-Suarez v. Key Risk Insurance Co. began as a workers’ compensation case filed at the North Carolina Industrial Commission. However, the case recently decided by North Carolina’s Court of Appeals is a civil case which was…
Teague Campbell Attorneys Contribute to DRI’s Lastest Compendium
Attorneys Courtney Britt and Bill Bulfer wrote the North Carolina Chapter in the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Compendium published by the Defense Research Institute. The compendium surveys insurance law and practices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It focuses on claims handling and timing issues, providing references to applicable…
Fourth Circuit Clarifies Statute of Limitations Applicable in Lawsuit Following Flood Insurance Claim
Plaintiffs’ waterfront home was damaged during Hurricane Irene in August of 2011. After the storm, Plaintiffs made a claim under a flood insurance policy issued by Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”) under the National Flood Insurance Program. Following inspections of the property by engineers hired by both Allstate and Plaintiffs, Allstate denied the claim. FEMA upheld…
Temporary Substitute for Covered Auto
A federal court in West Virginia has reviewed what constitutes a substitute auto in the context of a commercial auto policy. The owner of JRH Trucking, Ltd., James Herrington, contacted a mechanic to service one of the company’s coal trucks. The mechanic drove a flatbed truck to JRH’s facility, but was unable to complete the…
Bad Faith – The Heat Is On
A federal court in North Carolina recently ruled that homeowner-defendants in a declaratory judgment action sufficiently pled a counterclaim for bad faith against their insurer. The homeowners filed a claim with their insurer after their residence suffered water damage while they were out of the country. The insurer denied the claim after it determined that…
Trigger of Coverage
Last week was the one-year anniversary of Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 2015 WL 859586 (E.D.N.C. Feb. 27, 2015), in which the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina required five insurers to equally contribute to the defense of a mutual insured in connection with three underlying…
Eroding Limits: Benefit, Burden, or Both?
In recent discussions with clients regarding the development of professional liability coverage, I was asked whether we would be “better off” with eroding limits coverage. That question sparked an interesting discussion about the value of eroding limits in cases where defense costs represent the majority of exposure and the impact that eroding limits can have…
Teague Campbell’s Insurance Coverage Team Expands Service to Tennessee
Teague Campbell is now able to provide coverage counsel in North Carolina, South Carolina & Tennessee.
Agreement Between US Government and Auto Makers on Issues Affecting Insurance Industry
Last week, automakers and the US government reached an agreement on ways to improve safety, including warding off cyber-attacks in the ever-increasing number of Internet-connected vehicles and supporting the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles. This collaborative approach by regulators and industry leaders highlights the overlap between automobile liability, cyber security, and autonomous vehicles. Author cbritt…
Uninsured Motorist Coverage – Limited Class of Drivers
Stoms v. Federated Service Ins. Co., __ A.3d __, 2015 WL 6153403 (2015) On November 3, 2012, David Stoms (hereinafter “Decedent”) was returning from a family outing driving a vehicle owned by his employer, Diamond Motor. Decedent was struck by an uninsured driver and killed. At the time of the accident, Decedent was employed as…
Contingent Liability and Collectible Insurance
Bartkowiak v. Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, __ N.E.3d __, 2015 IL App (1st) 133549 (Ill. August 13, 2015) In 2009, a truck delivering road-surfacing materials struck and killed plaintiff’s husband. The insured was a truck broker that assigned the job to the at fault truck driver. The insured was named on the truck driver’s automobile liability…
Alternate Avenues of Risk and Recovery
Wilks v. Manobianco, __ P.3d __, 2015 WL 4132181 (Ariz. July 9, 2015) Plaintff obtained UM and UIM automobile insurance coverage from defendant broker for two years. Following this time, plaintiff switched to another automobile insurance company. One year later, plaintiff decided to go back to his first carrier and contacted defendant, allegedly instructing him…
Separation of Insureds in Vicarious Liability Claims
Liberty Univ., Inc. v. Citizens Ins. Co. of Am., No. 14-2254, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 4153840 (4th Cir. July 10, 2015). Janet Jenkins, plaintiff in the underlying lawsuit, sued Liberty University, claiming direct and vicarious liability, related to an alleged scheme to kidnap Jenkins’ daughter. Jenkins alleged that the university helped Lisa Miller, the…
Business Pursuits and the Duty to Defend
Preferred Mutual Ins. Co. v. Vermont Mutual Ins. Co., __ N.E.3d __, 2014 WL 9909470 (Mass. App. Ct. June 17, 2015) Preferred Mutual Insurance Company (hereinafter “Preferred”) brought a declaratory judgment action against Vermont Mutual Insurance Company (hereinafter “Vermont”) seeking a determination that Vermont had the sole obligation to defend and indemnify Joseph Munyon. This…
Evidence of Policy Limits Admitted at Trial
State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Kimberly S. Earl and the Estate of Jerry Earl, __ N.E.2d __, 2015 WL 3608850 (Ind. June 9, 2015) (Massa, J.) Jerry Earl filed a claim against State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. (hereinafter “Defendant”) seeking uninsured motorist benefits following a motorcycle accident that resulted in serious injuries. …
UIM Credit
Karper v. Calderon, __ A.3d __, 2014 WL 8883198 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 28, 2015) (per curium) This action arose out of an automobile accident where plaintiffs suffered damages in excess of the tortfeasor’s liability insurance coverage. When calculating Plaintiffs’ entitlement to UIM benefits, the Law Division judge applied a single individual credit…
Odor Insurance
Mellin v Northern Security Insurance Co., Inc., __ A.3d __, 2015 WL 1869572 (N.H. April 24, 2015) Plaintiffs filed a declaratory judgment action against Defendant asserting that their homeowner’s insurance policy required Defendant to reimburse them for loses to their condominium caused by a cat urine odor. Plaintiffs’ downstairs neighbor owned two cats. Plaintiffs leased…
Coverage for Your Commute
Christopher Bartolomucci v. Federal Ins. Co., et al., __ S.E.2d __, 2015 WL 1727279 (Va. April 16, 2015) Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action seeking to establish that his personal vehicle fell within the scope of the Federal Insurance Company Insurance Policy (hereinafter “Policy”) issued to Plaintiff’s law firm. Plaintiff was involved in a motor…
Allocation of Damages/Motions to Intervene
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently decided Uvino v. Harleysville Worcester Ins. Co., No. 13-4004, 2015 WL 925940 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2015). In the underlying lawsuit, the homeowner plaintiffs brought construction defect claims against a contractor who acted as “Construction Manager” during the development of their home. The contractor…
Special Relationships and the Dentist
Indiana Restorative Dentistry, P.C. v The Laven Insurance Agency, Inc. and ProAssurance Indemnity Co., Inc., __ N.E.3d __, 2015 WL 1087199 (Ind. March 12, 2015) Plaintiff filed a claim against Defendant for a breach of tort duty arising out of a special relationship with Laven Insurance Agency (hereinafter “Laven”). Plaintiff also alleged a breach of…
The Defense Rests…in Peace
Spurlock v. Beacon Lloyds Insurance Company, __ S.W.3d __, 2015 WL 581682 (Tex. App. January 29, 2015) Plaintiff filed numerous claims against Defendants arising out of a homeowner’s insurance policy. The Defendants included Beacon Lloyds Insurance Company (hereinafter “Defendant-Insurer”) and Grantham-Adkins Insurance Agency (hereinafter “Defendant-Agency”). J.O. Spurlock was the only named insured under the policy…