A new short-term extension through December 21 leaves the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in limbo as Congress grapples with a lengthy to-do list in advance of the holidays.  NFIP, the biggest source of flood coverage in the U.S., has been reauthorized through a set of short-term extensions in the last year as lawmakers debate the prospect of reforms to the program. NFIP has struggled to remain solvent in the wake of costly hurricanes, but…

Policyholders take notice – a recent New York case highlights the importance of thoroughly analyzing and understanding all policy language to minimize project risk and ensure proper coverage. As an illustration, the Court of Appeals of New York recently held that a named additional insured was not covered under an insurance policy because the plain meaning of the language in the policy endorsement required a written contract between the policyholder and the additional insured. In…

Cyber incidents can take many forms—phishing, insider theft, SQL injection, malware, denial of service, session hijacking, credential farming, or just old fashion “hacking.” Although many of these attack vectors employ technical knowledge, some utilize deception to manipulate individuals into performing certain actions or divulging confidential information. Commonly referred to as “social engineering,” a perpetrator can exploit human behavior to pull off a scam. Oftentimes this comes as an email, which appears to be from a…

Following record-setting levels of rainfall in the Carolinas from Hurricane Florence, businesses both in and outside of affected areas will likely be reviewing their flood coverage to assess how it will respond to adverse weather events. Although private flood insurance is on the rise, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) remains by far the biggest source of flood coverage in the U.S. NFIP was created in 1968 to address the problem of disaster relief costs…

A recent federal court of appeals’ decision raises interesting questions for all policyholders, particularly commercial and residential landlords with tenants that grow, possess, and/or distribute cannabis, even where it is legal to do so under state law. In K.V.G. Properties, Inc. v. Westfield Ins. Co., decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on August 21, 2018, KVG claimed coverage for losses caused by its commercial tenant’s use of KVG’s…

In addition to being a great place to find lobster, Maine may also be one of the country’s best jurisdictions for a policyholder seeking defense from its commercial general liability carrier. In Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Electricity Maine LLC, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine found against Zurich and in favor of Electricity Maine LLC, one of several defendants in an underlying class action lawsuit alleging pricing violations against the…

A catastrophic loss, such as a hurricane strike, can force any company out of business, even if it is insured. Although a business does not suffer any direct physical damage to its facilities, fickle natural disaster events can disrupt a company’s entire supply chain, with ripple effects for vendors, suppliers, customers and second-tier providers of services or goods. With scorching August temperatures and the Atlantic hurricane season ramping up to full speed, the next months…