In the world of insurance, it is inevitable that policies will be cancelled. As you can imagine, there is nothing worse than receiving a claim on a policy well after the effective date of cancellation. What should be a simple, clear cut denial of liability can quickly spiral into an expensive defense effort resulting in…
Partners Bill Bulfer and Courtney Britt recently contributed to DRI’s Insurance Policy Rescission Compendium by authoring the North Carolina Chapter. The compendium is a joint project between the DRI Insurance Law Committee and the DRI Life, Health and Disability Committee that took over a year to complete. It “is a comprehensive resource for insurance carriers,…
On January 31, 2019, at the NC Bar Center in Cary, NC, the Insurance Law Section will hold their 2019 annual meeting and CLE. This year’s concept, “Back to the Basics,” will assist attorneys and insurance adjusters both new to and well versed in insurance law. CLE credits are being offered (including 1 hour of ethics/professional…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…