Coverage & Claims

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A state’s highest court generally gets to have the last word on insurance policy interpretation.  Recently, however, the South Carolina Senate asserted its right to override this judicial prerogative.  Following a decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court regarding the meaning of “occurrence,” the South Carolina Senate approved a bill that would significantly broaden the definition of “occurrence” in the context of liability policies covering construction professionals. …
Read More South Carolina Senate Moves to Override State High Court and Expand Interpretation of “Occurrence” to Include Damage Resulting From Faulty Workmanship

A hydrofracking well exploded near Leroy Township, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, spilling chemically treated water into a nearby creek that feeds the Susquehanna River and prompting the evacuation of certain residents.  The incident occurred while a crew from Chesapeake Energy Corporation was in the midst of “fracking” the well, a method by which one injects a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into dense rock at high pressures in order to release oil and gas.  The cause of the spill was reportedly due to equipment failure. …
Read More Breaking News: Hydrofracking-Related Spill in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned whether a common law public nuisance suit against major greenhouse gas emitters was treading on territory usually, and perhaps more fittingly, handled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). …
Read More U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Climate Change Public Nuisance Suit

Recent global catastrophes are likely to erase close to 25% of first quarter profits for reinsurers with exposure to the Japan and New Zealand earthquakes as well as the Australia floods, a recent MarketWatch article reported. 
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Read More Japan Earthquake and Other Catastrophes Likely to Erase Close to 25% of Profit for Reinsurers

Attorneys for Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of BP’s $20 billion claims fund for the Deepwater Horizon disaster argued Tuesday that the Louisiana federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation against BP plc lacked legal authority to regulate the claims process. …
Read More BP’s Claims Administrator Argues Court Intervention Regarding $20 Billion Fund is ‘Unlawful’ and ‘Unnecessary’

Natural gas obtained from shale formations using the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing (“hydrofracking”) have a higher greenhouse gas footprint than when obtained from conventional methods, according to a study recently released by the academic journal Climate Change Letters. …
Read More Hydrofracking: Study Finds “Shale Gas” May Have Greater GHG Footprint Than Coal

Japan is planning to raise the nuclear alert level at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to a maximum seven (“Major Event”) on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), putting this emergency on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. …
Read More Japan Raises Nuclear Alert Level Not Seen Since Chernobyl

A Massachusetts federal judge has found that violations of a fee-sharing agreement between a lawyer and his former firm do not constitute legal services, and therefore do not fall within the scope of coverage afforded by the lawyer’s professional malpractice policy.
Read More Fee Dispute Between Lawyer and Former Firm Not Covered by E&O Policy

Over the years, swimming pools have given rise to more than their share of reported decisions.  One of the most recent, and relevant to the insurance industry, is the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision affirming a finding that a contractor’s faulty work in installing a swimming pool may be deemed an “occurrence” for purposes of general liability insurance coverage. …
Read More Faulty Work Deemed An “Occurrence” Under CGL Policy

The Seattle Times recently reported that a settlement “in excess of $200 million” has been reached in a case involving the 2008 demise of the banking giant Washington Mutual.  The suit, filed against a number of WaMu’s former directors and officers and a bevy of Wall Street investment banks, concerns WaMu’s allegedly slapdash lending practices and misleading public statements about the bank’s financial health. …
Read More Tentative Settlement Worth a Reported $200+ Million Reached in WaMu Securities Class Action