The Illinois Department of Insurance recently published proposed regulations impacting insurance producer licensing in Illinois. While largely technical in nature, the proposed rules do require an individual to spend at least 51% of their time in Illinois to be considered a “resident” producer.
Read MoreWhile interpreting a policy governed by Illinois law, the Seventh Circuit found ambiguity based on two “plausible” interpretations and found coverage, a finding based on language that appears to have been construed in isolation and without regard to the purpose or pricing of the policy. That case was National Casualty Co. v. White Mountains Reinsurance Co., no. 11-3158 (7th Cir. Oct. 30, 2013).
Read MoreIn Cohen v. American Security Insurance Co., the Seventh Circuit rang the death knell on mortgagors’ lawsuits complaining about the cost of force-place insurance bought by the mortgagors’ bank. When a bank makes a loan and takes a mortgage, the mortgagor’s real estate often is the bank’s security – that is, the bank’s assurance that its loan will be repaid, involuntarily if need be.
Read MoreIn Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Iles, the Appellate Court of Illinois reversed the trial court’s judgment against the insurance company. An oil well exploded, leading to many lawsuits against Bituminous’s policyholders.
Read MoreEdwards Wildman Speaker: Robert W. DiUbaldo
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM (Central Time)
Please join us on August 28 from noon to 1:15 pm (Central) for this free webinar. Attorneys from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP and Surdyk & Baker, engineers from St. John-Mittelhauser & Associates and underwriting and claims professionals from the Catlin Group will discuss the recently enacted Illinois Hydraulic Fracking Regulatory Act and its potential consequences, and will answer your questions.
In a flawed opinion handed down in Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. v. Merge Healthcare Solutions, the Seventh Circuit ordered an insurance company to pay $3.15 million for attorney fees awarded to the plaintiffs who sued the company’s insured. Some shareholders sued Amicas, Inc. and its officers, who were insured by Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. under a D&O policy.
Read MoreIn Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London v. Southern National Gas Co. (Ala. June 18, 2013), the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict finding that the leaking of PCB from 8 different locations was one “occurrence.” Sonat (short for Southern National Gas Co.) had 38 air compressers to push natural gas through Sonat’s 14,000 miles of pipeline spanning seven southeastern states.
Read MoreIn an opinion adjudicating the insurability of claims brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that public policy did not prohibit coverage of these claims. The decision is Standard Mutual Insurance Co. v. Lay, No. 114616 (Ill. May 23, 2013), and a copy of it is available here.
Read MoreIn Phillips v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America, No. 11-3870 (7th Cir. May 6, 2013), the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a putative class action that challenged a life insurer’s use of “retained asset accounts” to make payment of the policy’s benefits. On behalf of a putative class, Zena Phillips sued Prudential, alleging that by not paying her policy benefits in a lump sum, it breached an insurance policy, its statutory duty of good faith, and its fiduciary duties.
Read MoreIn a recent decision, an Illinois appellate court determined that the collapse of a porch, resulting in injury or death to more than forty individuals, constituted a single “occurrence” for the purposes of determining coverage under a commercial general liability insurance policy. With this decision, the court recognized an important limitation on the applicability of a test previously adopted by the state’s Supreme Court for determining the number of occurrences implicated by a claim.
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