The key issue in insurance bad faith litigation is whether the claims professional reasonably handled the claim. Throughout the claims-handling process, the claims professional should constantly ask him-or-herself whether the investigation is sufficient to support a coverage determination and how …
In Part I of this series, we explored the differences between institutional and non-institutional bad faith. For claims of institutional bad faith, plaintiffs often attempt to demonstrate a pattern and practice by offering evidence of claims of other policyholders. Unlike …
Defending Institutional Bad Faith Claims, Part III – Proof by Other Claims Read more »
In Part I of this series, we discussed institutional bad faith and best practices for insurers to minimize the risk of these costly and intrusive lawsuits. In Part II, we will focus on cutting discovery off at the pleadings—by narrowing …
Defending Institutional Bad Faith Claims, Part II – Focusing on Plausibility Read more »
Broadly speaking, there are two types of bad faith claims that may be alleged against an insurance company—traditional or non-institutional bad faith, and institutional bad faith. For the former, a policyholder would seek to hold an insurer liable for its …
Defending Institutional Bad Faith Claims, Part I – A Primer on Institutional Bad Faith Read more »
A bad faith claim against an insurer often focuses as much on the process of a claims investigation as it does on the substance of a claims decision itself. If the coverage decision was wrong (but not unreasonable), and the …
On March 18, 2019, the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision holding that Sedgwick Claims Management Services made reasonable and prompt efforts to settle a nursing home liability claim, and therefore was not liable for a $14M excess …
Last week, the Georgia Supreme Court confirmed that an insurance carrier’s duty to settle a claim against its policyholder arises only after an injured claimant presents a “valid offer” to settle within policy limits. In First Acceptance Insurance Company of …
Georgia Supreme Court Spares Insurance Company from a $5.3 Million Bad-Faith Verdict Read more »
In a surprising decision on rehearing, on February 4, 2019, a panel of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal reversed itself and held that bad faith claims arising out of an insurance contract are subject to a ten-year prescriptive …
In Summit Insurance Company v. Stricklett, — A.3d —, No. 2017185APPEALPC12536, 2019 WL 190358, (R.I. Jan. 15, 2019), the Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that – similar to many jurisdictions – the duty to act in a reasonable manner …
In Rhode Island, No Duty of Good Faith to Third Party Claimant Read more »
Progressive recently settled a bad faith lawsuit with the guardians of a child injured in a car accident driven by a Progressive policyholder, Earl Lloyd. Progressive faced liability for an underlying judgment in excess of $22 million against Lloyd, who …