Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

A recent ruling by a New York trial court highlights the duty of an insurer to timely respond to its policyholders. In Robert Vargas, et al. v. The City of New York, et al., No. 154323/13 (N.Y. Sup. Jan. 15, 2016), the court required an insurer to defend and indemnify its policyholder against lead exposure claims, even though the policy contained a lead exclusion, because the insurer’s disclaimer of coverage was untimely.

Winter Storm Jonas has finally departed the mid-Atlantic, leaving behind snow depths best measured with a yardstick and, now, mounting reports of significant damage to property and resulting interruptions to businesses near and far from the path of the storm. Roof collapses under weight of snow and ice; flooding from burst pipes and broken water mains; fires caused by downed electrical lines; and food spoilage caused by losses of electrical power are but just a few of the impacts Jonas has left in his wake.

Prior blog posts discuss new laws imposing, among other things, insurance-related requirements on ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft (also known as transportation network companies or TNCs) and their drivers. While many states have passed such laws, the Florida legislature is now dealing with competing proposals for regulating TNCs. On Tuesday, a Florida Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to regulate TNCs. A different bill is making its way through the Florida House. Both bills include insurance requirements but the devil is in the details.

On January 12, 2016, a federal court in Utah refused to dismiss a bad faith claim brought by Federal Recovery Services against Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, despite finding that there was no duty to defend FRS under Travelers’ “CyberFirst Policy.” Travelers Property Casualty Company of America et al. v. Federal Recovery Services et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-00170. FRS sought a defense and indemnity for a lawsuit filed against it by Global Fitness Holdings, LLC, a fitness center operator. Global Fitness had alleged that FRS intentionally misused the credit card and bank account information of Global Fitness’ customers, which consequently interfered with FRS’s business dealings.

States continue to increase their regulation of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft (also known as Transportation Network Companies or TNCs) and their drivers. The increased regulation comes with increased insurance obligations and Farmers Insurance is expanding a new product to fulfill those requirements. As one example, the governor of Ohio recently signed a bill that includes insurance coverage requirements applicable to TNCs and their drivers. To help remedy the potential coverage gaps that must now be filled, Farmers announced on Monday that it would expand its ridesharing coverage to Ohio.