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Read insightful commentaries by prominent insurance law authorities on the hot insurance issues of the day—then join in on the discussion! 

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Expert ForumCommentsLatest Post
James Veach on Union Indemnity's Belated Distribution: Tumult on the way to a First Partial Payment
The mid-1980s were the golden age of insurance insolvency. The current sub-prime meltdown and the agonies at mono-line insurers MBIA and Ambac scare a lot of people about the consequences of slipping from a AAA to a AA rating. But the 1980s, on the other hand, saw dozens of insurers and several large carriers writing business in all fifty states go down like duck pins. These failures stressed guaranty fun
By James Veach
Partner, Mound, Cotton, Wollan & Greengrass

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Mark B. Seiger and Jeffrey L. Kingsley on Panasia Estates v. Hudson Insurance Company and Bi-Economy Market v. Harleysville: New York's New Standard With Respect to First-Party Bad Faith Claims
Previously, New York’s highest Court did not recognize an independent tort cause of action for an insurer’s alleged failure to perform its contractual obligation under an insurance contract. New York’s seminal case for that proposition, Rocanova v. Equitable Life Insurance Society, was routinely followed. The lone rogue case which provided a pathway for insureds to receive greater protection was the First
By Mark B. Seiger and Jeffrey L. Kingsley of Goldberg
partner, Goldberg Segalla; attorney, Goldberg Segalla

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Douglas R. Richmond on Excess Versus Primary Insurers: The Bad Faith Battle
Business and individuals alike commonly purchase excess insurance and umbrella policies as protection against potentially catastrophic liability. In cases where judgments implicate such policies, disputes often arise between the excess carrier and the primary insurer.   By Douglas R. Richmond
Senior Vice President in the Professional Services Group of Aon Risk Services

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Thomas A. Robinson on Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors and Deliberate Avoidance of Employment Relationships
The American capitalist economy is founded, at least in part, upon the freedom of firms and individuals to bind themselves to legal contracts without significant interference from outsiders, particularly the government. The freedom to contract does not exist within a vacuum, however. For example, should a purported employer be able to subdivide its business, hire out important core elements of its operation to
By Thomas A. Robinson
Author/Editor

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Barry Zalma on Bad Faith: Time to Put A Stake Through the Heart of the Tort of Bad Faith
US law was first organized based on English Common law. When a contract was breached only contract damages could be recovered. Tort damages were limited to tortious conduct and the two categories of damages were mutually exclusive.   A
By Barry Zalma
Attorney and Consultant

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Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP on Wade v. Emcasco Insurance Co: Tenth Circuit Provides Insurers With a New Way To Defend Against Bad Faith Set-Ups
Plaintiffs with claims exceeding defendants’ insurance policy limits have long sought to remove those limits by setting up the insurer for bad faith claims. A common method has involved making time-limited settlement demands while withholding information important to settlement evaluation. An insurer could argue that its conduct was reasonable in light of the information available to it but could not directly attack t
By William T. Barker
Partner, Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP

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Carrie Cope on Shielding Insurers from Bad Faith in Settlement Negotiations: The Changing Need for the White Waiver
A white waiver protects an insurer against allegations from insured that a settlement offer was made in bad faith. California legislation enacted subsequent to the court opinion, out of which the white waiver arose, appears to obviate the need to for a white waiver for settlement negotiations during mediation but courts have not yet addressed how far that protection extends. In this expert commentary, insur
By Carrie Cope
Partner, Tressler Soderstrom Maloney & Priess LLP

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Jeffrey W. Stempel on the Bi Economy Market and Panasia Estates cases: New York Embraces Consequential Damages as a Remedy in Insurance Bad Faith Claims
In a pair of recent decisions, the New York Court of Appeals, normally a court embraced by insurers (New York law is frequently the choice of insurers in drafting dispute resolution and choice-of-law clauses in policies), ruled that under apt circumstances, policyholders may seek not only payment of policy proceeds from insurers but also pursue consequential damages in cases where the insurer has acted in bad faith toward the policyh
By Jeffrey W. Stempel
William S. Boyd Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Douglas R. Richmond on Developments in Bad Faith: Time-Restricted Settlement Offers
A wide variety of allegations of bad faith permeate insurance litigation. A common scenario involves an allegation by the policyholder or the policyholder’s assignee that the liability insurer unreasonably failed to settle a claim against the policyholder within its policy limits. This exposes the policyholder, and in turn, the insurer, to excess liability.  
By Douglas R. Richmond
Senior Vice President in the Professional Services Group of Aon Risk Services

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Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP on Earthquake Insurance Coverage: Then and Now
  While earthquakes and earthquake insurance are primarily matters of concern in California, there have been earthquakes in 46 states since 1975 and insurers underwrite earthquake policies in all 50 states. The California experience with earthquake insurance is therefore potentially important well beyond that state’s borders. In their commentary, Cynthia Mellema, Jeff Butler and Norman Lau of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP:  
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Darren A. Lossia and Charles W. Browning on Flood Exclusion Upheld in La. "Hurricane Katrina" Claims
Darren A. Lossia and Charles W. Browning of the law firm of Plunkett Clooney here analyze a key decision among the many insurance coverage cases that have followed in the wake of hurricane Katrina. A recent unanimous decision by the Fifth Circuit interpreted the application of flood exclusion language contained in various homeowner’s, renter’s and commercial property insurance policies as unambiguously excluding floo
By Darren A. Lossia and Charles W. Browning
members, Plunkett Cooney LLP

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Richard Lewis & Marshall Gilinsky on Business Income Coverage in the Post 9/11 World: How Insurance Companies Have Changed the Claims Handling Playbook Since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina
Richard Lewis and Marshall Gilinsky have provided an important commentary on the substantial shifts in the way business income interruption insurance claims have been handled as a result of the events of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Prior to those events, business income and other time element insurance claims typically were resolved by negotiation or appraisal. But those cataclysmic events have set loose a torrent
By Richard Lewis and Marshall Gilinsky
Partner, Reed Smith LLP; Shareholder, Anderson Kill & Olick PC

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3Apr 16 2008 7:31PM
William T. Barker
Jeffrey E. Thomas on Emerging Issues for Terrorism Insurance
The federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 became law on December 26, 2007. It extended the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”) through the end of 2014 and made other changes to the Act. In this commentary, Associate Dean Jeffrey E. Thomas of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law sets forth the basic principles and provisions of TRIA and the changes that were enacted in the 2005 and 2007 extensions of the Act.  By Jeffrey E Thomas
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Law, University of Missouri, Kansas City

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An Interview with David Rossmiller on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Insurance Law and an Update on Recent Developments
After the shock of having their properties devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Coast residents were in for a another shock. The homeowner’s and commercial property insurance policies they depended on for recovery contained exclusions and limitations resulting in coverage denials and small payouts. Policyholders are challenging the insurers’ interpretations of their policies in court, some alleging fraud and bad faith. Governments are proposing new laws and regulations aim
By David P. Rossmiller
Partner, Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue LLP

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Carrie Cope on Storm Clouds on the Horizon: A New Assessment Raises Concerns for Some Florida Insurers
Some Florida insurers are facing new assessments in the event the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation sustains a budget shortfall in the coming years. This is the result of the Florida State Legislature’s expansion of Florida Statute § 627.351, to apply to al
By Carrie Cope
Partner, Tressler Soderstrom Maloney & Priess LLP

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Lee H. Shidlofsky on Excess Underwriters v. Frank's Casing: The Right of Reimbursement in Texas
One pressing issue in insurance law is the extent, if any, to which an insurer has the right to seek reimbursement from its insured of defense costs and/or indemnity payments when it ultimately is determined that no coverage exists. On February 1, 2008, after a long wait, a divided Supreme Court of Texas reversed its earlier decision and concluded that no such right exists in By Lee Shidlofsky
Partner, Visser Shidlofsky LLP

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1Mar 28 2008 2:32PM
William T. Barker
Jennifer K. Mailander on China's Circular 91
In November, 2001, China was approved as a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As part of its acceptance into the WTO, China agreed to adopt measures to better define and regulate practices within the insurance industry. To fulfill these requirements, China has revised and adopted several insurance-related laws, regulations, and guidelines. The most recent of these was issued on September 7, 2007 when th
By Jennifer Mailander
Attorney and Product Manager

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Daniel W. Gerber & Jeffrey L. Kingsley on Legal Developments in the Life Insurance Settlement Industry
The idea of selling the proceeds of one’s own life insurance policy to another may at first glance appear to be outside the scope of traditional insurance practices, but recently a growing number of policyholders have embarked on this process in an attempt to find additional sources of income as medical costs continue to rise. Unfortunately, the transaction process is not an easy one as the industry is largely unregulated. Courts, state regulators and even insurance companies themselv
By Dan Gerber and Jeff Kingsley of Goldberg Segalla

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Douglas R. Richmond on Defense Lawyers' Malpractice Liability to Excess Insurers
Liability insurers appoint defense counsel to represent their policyholders. If a case turns out ba