Install
Casualty and Litigation guides
Anti-concurrent causation clauses: when one excluded cause sinks a claimHow the lead-in to the ISO special form's big exclusions works, how California and Texas courts treat it, and what to do when wind and water hit one building.The appraisal clause in commercial property disputesHow the appraisal clause settles disagreements over the amount of a property or income loss, what it cannot decide, and Texas and Florida rulings on causation.Are fines, penalties and punitive damages insurable?When insurance can pay fines, penalties and punitive damages: the public policy rule, how states split on punitive damages, and the policy wording to check.Biometric privacy (BIPA) lawsuits and insuranceHow BIPA biometric class actions work, what the 2024 amendment and 2026 Seventh Circuit ruling changed, and whether your liability policies will defend them.Commercial insurance fraud: premium fraud and staged claimsHow premium fraud and claim fraud work in commercial insurance, what they cost a business that commits or suffers them, and how to avoid fake policies.Coverage litigation and declaratory judgment actions: when you and your insurer end up in courtHow insurers and policyholders sue over coverage, what a declaratory judgment action decides, why courts often wait, and what to do if your insurer files one.What the COVID-19 business interruption lawsuits decidedCourts mostly held COVID-19 closures were not direct physical loss under property policies. The key rulings, the exceptions, and what to check in your policy.What to do when your business insurance claim is deniedA denial is the insurer's position, not the last word. How to read the letter, which deadlines keep running and how to appeal, from reconsideration to suit.The hammer clause: what happens if you refuse a settlementA hammer clause caps what your insurer pays if you reject a settlement it recommends. How full and soft hammers work, with an example and two court decisions.Indemnification and hold harmless clauses and your insuranceWhat indemnify, defend and hold harmless promise, how broad, intermediate and limited clauses differ, and how TX, NY, FL and CA limit them.Independent counsel and Cumis counsel: when your insurer must pay for your own lawyerWhen an insurer defends under a reservation of rights, a conflict can entitle you to your own lawyer at its expense. How the rule works by state.Insurer bad faith: what it is and the remediesWhen claim handling crosses from a coverage dispute into bad faith, how first-party and third-party claims differ, and the remedies states allow.Mediation and arbitration in insurance disputesHow mediation, arbitration and appraisal differ in insurance disputes, where each shows up in commercial policies, and how to choose a path and keep deadlines.Notice of claim and late notice: why timing mattersHow late notice can cost a business its coverage, how occurrence and claims-made policies differ, and how four states treat late reporting.Loss reserves and reserve development: why they matter to buyersWhat an insurer's loss reserves are, how adverse reserve development drives rate increases and failures, and how buyers can read the warning signs.Nuclear verdicts and social inflation: why liability costs keep risingNuclear verdicts and social inflation push liability claim costs above ordinary inflation. The 2026 data, what drives them, and what business buyers can do.Premises liability: how slip-and-fall claims are handledHow a slip-and-fall claim moves from the incident to settlement or suit, what the plaintiff must prove, what general liability pays, and what to do first.How professional liability claims unfoldHow a professional liability (E&O) claim moves from demand letter to settlement: notice, reservation of rights, defense counsel, experts, consent, renewal.Reservation of rights letters: what they mean and how to respondA reservation of rights letter is not a denial. What it says line by line, how it affects who controls your defense, and what to do in the first week.Securities class actions and the D&O marketHow shareholder class actions work, how public company D&O policies respond, and what 2025 filing data and 2026 pricing say about the market.Subrogation in business insurance: how insurers recover and what it means for youAfter paying your loss, your insurer may sue whoever caused it. How subrogation works, your duties, what happens to your deductible, and when waivers block it.The insurer's duty to defend: what triggers it and when it endsA liability insurer must defend any suit that is potentially covered, even a groundless one. How the duty is triggered, what it costs you, and how it ends.Third-party litigation funding and liability insuranceOutside investors now fund lawsuits for a share of the recovery. What that means for liability claims, settlement talks, disclosure rules and your limits.Tort reform and liability insurance: what changes for business buyersState tort reform changes fault rules, evidence and recovery. What Florida and Georgia changed, and what reform does and does not do to your premium.Trucking verdicts and the cost of auto liabilityWhy truck crash verdicts run so large, what 2026 data show, how Werner v. Blake and Montgomery v. Caribe matter, and what it does to limits and rates.Wage-and-hour exclusions and third-party EPLIMost EPLI policies exclude wage-and-hour suits and cover only employees. How defense sublimits and third-party endorsements work, and what to ask first.When your business is sued: working with your insurerThe first days after a lawsuit arrives: calendar the deadline, tender to every policy, send the papers, make no voluntary payments and cooperate with counsel.Why commercial auto insurance keeps getting more expensiveCommercial auto lost money for 14 straight years through 2024 as injury claims and verdicts outran rates. What AM Best's data shows and what owners can control.Workers' comp fraud: employee, employer and provider schemesThe three kinds of workers' comp fraud (claim, premium and provider), the red flags for each, what employers should do, and how penalties vary by state.