Insurance

By Todd Rowe on August 23, 2019

There is little dispute that the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (“BIPA”) is a unique privacy law to the extent that it creates a private cause of action for any failures to notify individuals before their biometric information is collected and stored. That is, BIPA potentially creates a liability regardless of whether there was a breach of private information. Further complicating matters is the fact that many data collectors that qualify as “financial institutions” or…

Zalma on Insurance

Major Insurance Books by Barry Zalma

By Barry Zalma on August 23, 2019

Everything Needed by Insurance Claims Lawyers, Executives and Adjusters To assist the insurance industry in its efforts to avoid the tort of bad faith Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance coverage and claims consultant, has created a library of insurance claims books and internet based training programs to make it possible for insurers to develop a claims staff of insurance claims professionals. Insurers must bring a new crop of graduates into the insurance profession. Since…

Zalma on Insurance

Ohio Enforces Privileges in Suit Against Insurer

By Barry Zalma on August 23, 2019

Although Discoverable in Bad Faith Case not Discoverable in Breach of Contract Suit Bifurcation of Contract and Bad Faith Suit Protects Privileges When an insured sues an insurer for breach of contract and bad faith the insurer will often seek an order bifurcating the two issues since, if the insurer wins on the breach of contract action there is no need for trial of the bad faith claim. Even in a case where the court…

Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog

Court Does Not Pity the Fool Who Does Not Fully Read His Insurance Policy

By Paul LaSalle on August 23, 2019

Chip Merlin frequently stresses the importance of reading the whole insurance policy when determining whether there is coverage for the relevant property damage. The failure to do so was highlighted in a recent case,1 where a Pennsylvania federal court stated it could not ignore the specific terms of an insurance policy merely because the insured may not have fully read the policy. In that case, an insured sued his homeowners insurer, alleging it failed to…

The D&O Diary

Isn’t It Ironic? Litigation Funding Firm Hit With Securities Suit

By Kevin LaCroix on August 22, 2019

In a development that some may find more than a little bit ironic, U.K.-based litigation finance firm Burford Capital has been hit with a securities class action lawsuit following a drop in its share price after a short seller published a report questioning the company’s financial reporting. Burford has denied the short seller’s allegations and has also raised interesting questions about trading in its securities at the time of the research report’s release. A copy…

Insurance and Reinsurance Disputes Blog

STOLI Mackerel – Life Insurance Policy Void Ab Initio

By Larry P. Schiffer on August 22, 2019

Life insurance used to be simple. You took out a policy on your own life to protect your family. Then along came a life insurance product where investors funded the purchase of a policy on your life even though they had no insurable interest in your life. These stranger-owned life insurance policies (“STOLI”) have been controversial. Recently, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals had to determine whether a STOLI policy violated public policy under New…

Tech Risk Report

Recent Developments in Coverage for Email-Based Computer Fraud

By Jeff Bowen on August 22, 2019

As previously reported here, (Nov. 8, 2017), companies falling victim to electronic impersonation (“spoofing”) schemes have frequently turned to “computer fraud” coverage found in typical crime policies. In this type of fraud, someone impersonates a vendor, contract partner, or company executive via email or other electronic means, and directs the transfer of funds to an account connected to the fraudster. Courts adjudicating insurance coverage actions arising out of these schemes have reached quite disparate…

It Pays to Be Covered™

No Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Rideshare Driver

By Katherine J. Henry on August 22, 2019

A recent decision involving insurance coverage for a rideshare driver explains the temporal aspect of rideshare policies, which insure drivers during certain phases of the rideshare process. Here a driver sought uninsured motorist coverage under policies issued by James River Insurance Company, an insurer for transportation network company Uber, for injuries she sustained after dropping off a passenger. James River issued two business auto policies that insured drivers during different stages of the ridesharing process.…

Benefits Law Advisor

Beginning in 2020, Employers May Reimburse Health Insurance Premiums as an Alternative to a Traditional Group Health Plan (Subject to Several Requirements)

By Melissa Ostrower on August 22, 2019

Many employers have contacted us over the years asking whether they may offer an “employer–payment plan” rather than offer a traditional group health insurance plan. An employer-payment plan is a type of account-based plan that provides an employee reimbursement for all or a portion of the premium expense for individual health insurance coverage or other non-employer hospital or medical insurance. Until now, the answer has generally been no. But beginning in 2020, subject to the…

Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog

Closed Claim File Statistics Following Hurricanes

By Chip Merlin on August 22, 2019

Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. —Mark Twain Closed claim file statistics reported by various departments of insurance following hurricanes seem absurd to those in the impacted areas and those working in the insurance claim business. The root of the problem is that most departments of insurance put pressure on insurance companies to close claims fast and provide high percentages of closed claims. So, insurance companies “administratively close” files to meet regulatory requirements…