Few areas of insurance law practice are as sensitive as the audit of a defense counsel’s bills or case file. Insurance companies and defense attorneys alike dread these necessary but often divisive processes. Two years ago, I wrote a “Legal …
Got your attention, didn’t I? One of those things every Texas insurance professional knows is that Texas is not a direct action state—simply put, an injured third party cannot sue the tortfeasor’s insurance company “directly.” Rather, the third party has …
Almost two years ago, I wrote a column for “Legal Beat” entitled It Couldn’t Be Done: The Policyholder’s Idea to Reinvigorate Third Party Bad Faith. The article outlined the attempts by a very clever Dallas policyholder attorney and his colleagues …
At year end it is a common practice for many insurance attorneys to peek at the likely new issues for the forthcoming year. Not surprisingly, most of the really big issues that arise in any given year are not the …
The notice condition in general liability policies requires that the insured provide the insurer with timely notice of any potential occurrence and the receipt of suit papers. Failure to give proper notice of either of these events constitutes “late notice” …
A while back I was discussing with a colleague whether a carrier has a duty to prosecute an appeal on behalf of its insured. My initial thought was that upon the resolution of the underlying matter by a trial verdict …
Two recent Texas opinions have re-opened an issue of public policy. For many years now, the question as to whether punitive damages are covered under general liability policies has been one of much debate. In Texas, much of the debate …
A while back I was discussing with a colleague whether a carrier has a duty to prosecute an appeal on behalf of its insured. My initial thought was that upon the resolution of the underlying matter by a trial verdict …
One of the Insurance Journal’s roles is to keep insurance professionals updated on key legal issues affecting the insurance industry. Indeed, the Legal Beat Column often focuses on court cases and trends in the law that are interesting or may …
Every claims professional generally understands the need for reserving the carrier’s rights when a claim is made. Every claims handler understands many of the risks that go along with failure to reserve either timely or adequately. But often, in the …
