Insurance Law Hawaii

Blog Authors

Latest from Insurance Law Hawaii

Hurricane Insurers Must Submit Data Call Worksheet to Hawaii Insurance Commissioner

By Tred Eyerly on June 24, 2019

The Hawaii Insurance Commissioner has issued Memorandum 2019 3R, requiring insurers writing residential hurricane coverage at any time in the last 15 years to submit a data call worksheet, or completed survey, to the Insurance Division. The Commissioner explains the information is requested to capture Hawaii-specific information on residential hurricane coverage through a separate data call. The worksheet should be submitted to the Insurance Division by August 30, 2019. Pursuant to…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Motion to Strike Insurer’s Expert Opinion Granted

By Tred Eyerly on June 19, 2019

The court granted the insured’s motion to strike the testimony of the insurer’s expert because the opinion lacked sufficient explanation or analysis. Affinity Mut. Ins. v. Thacker Air Conditioning Refrigeration Heating, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84713 (N.D. Ind. May 20, 2019). The insured owned a market that needed renovations. The roof over an addition to the market extended from the wall of the extension to the top of the existing roof. The…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Punitive Damage Award for Bad Faith Upheld

By Tred Eyerly on June 17, 2019

Punitive damages that were reduced by the trial court to $1 million fro $4 million were affirmed by the appellate court. Mazik v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co., 2019 Cal. App LEXIS 454 (Cal. Ct. App. May 17, 2019). Mazik was injured in a serious auto accident. He was diagnosed with a “grossly comminuted fracture of the left calcaneus,” i.e., heel bone. Mazik’s expert at trial described the injury to the heel as…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Business Risk Exclusions Bar Coverage Whether or Not Operations Completed

By Tred Eyerly on June 12, 2019

The federal district court found that exclusions j (5), (6) and l barred coverage for damage caused to the city’s water main collector system. Sunwestern Contractors, Inc. v. Cincinnati Indem. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82642 (D. Ariz. May 15, 2019). Sunwestern contracted with the city of Tucson for the construction of a water main collector system. During the project, Sunwestern conducted a pressure-test of the pipeline when several flanges, which connected…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Summary Judgment for Partial Collapse Granted to Insurer

By Tred Eyerly on June 10, 2019

The partial collapse of an exterior brick veneer of an apartment building was found not to be covered under the apartment policy. Keyser v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81194 (W.D. Pa. May 14, 2019). Norene Keyser was insured by State Farm for a six-unit apartment building. The exterior brick veneer of the property’s west-facing wall partially collapsed while a maintenance staff attempted remedial repairs. Keyser filed…

Insurance Law Hawaii

No Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Based Upon Exclusion for Contractual Assumption of Liability

By Tred Eyerly on June 5, 2019

The Supreme Court for West Virginia determined the policy’s contractual assumption exclusion barred coverage for the general contractor based upon claims of faulty workmanship. J.A. St & Assocs. v. Bitco Gen. Ins. Corp., 2019 W. Va. LEXIS 205 (May 1, 2019). J.A. Street & Associates, Inc. entered a contract with the developer, Thundering Herd Development, L.L.C., to build a commercial shopping center on seventy-eight acres of land. Street agreed to oversee the…

Insurance Law Hawaii

One Occurrence Means One Deductible

By Tred Eyerly on June 3, 2019

The court held that claims regarding the negligent supervision of an independent contractor who engaged in the sexual abuse of three victimes amounted to one occurrence, requiring a single deductible. Scott Fetzer Co. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 13023 (6th Cir. April 30,2019). In 2013, three women filed suit against Scott Fetzer Company (dosing business as Kirby Company), Crantz Development LLC, and John Fields. The women alleged that…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Few Insurance-Related Bills Passed by 2019 Session of Hawaii Legislature

By Tred Eyerly on May 29, 2019

Only four insurance-related measures were enacted by the Hawaii Legislature in the recently concluded 2019 session. The legislation is as follows: HB 273 – This bill establishes an exemption for insurers issuing group policies from the required annual privacy notice to individual customers under certain circumstances. The bill was transmitted to the Governor on April 24, 2019. SB 25 – Related to health insurance, the measure amends portions of the Hawaii…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Computer Fraud Claim Dismissed in Part

By Tred Eyerly on May 22, 2019

The federal district court granted in part, denied in part, the insurer’s motion to dismiss a claim for computer fraud submitted under the insurer’s crime protection policy. Childrens Place, Inc. v. Great Am. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70109 (D. N. J. April 25, 2019). On July 24, 2017, The Children Place Inc. (TCP) learned that two payments totaling $967,714 were made to an unauthorized third party (the Hacker) instead of…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Claim Against Insured’s Agent Dismissed

By Tred Eyerly on May 20, 2019

The Hawaii Federal District Court dismissed a purported third party beneficiary’s claim against the insured’s agent. United States Fire Ins. Co. v. Hawaiian Canoe Racing Ass’ns, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65829 (D. Haw. April 17, 2019). This was the third recent decision regarding a boating accident in which the underlying plaintiff was injured by a propeller when entering Mark Stevens’ boat during the Pailolo Challenge Outrigger Canoe Race. [prior posts here and…

Insurance Law Hawaii

Blog Authors

Hurricane Insurers Must Submit Data Call Worksheet to Hawaii Insurance Commissioner

Motion to Strike Insurer’s Expert Opinion Granted

Punitive Damage Award for Bad Faith Upheld

Business Risk Exclusions Bar Coverage Whether or Not Operations Completed

Summary Judgment for Partial Collapse Granted to Insurer

No Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Based Upon Exclusion for Contractual Assumption of Liability

One Occurrence Means One Deductible

Few Insurance-Related Bills Passed by 2019 Session of Hawaii Legislature

Computer Fraud Claim Dismissed in Part

Claim Against Insured’s Agent Dismissed

Company

Support

New to the Network