Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

The ongoing military action between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is affecting commerce both in the region and globally. There have already been reports of several oil tankers, cargo vessels, and a data center being damaged in attacks. Even businesses not directly impacted will be affected as shipping companies avoid the Strait of Hormuz, causing delays and higher prices for downstream customers. While many might assume insurance coverage is unavailable, that is not always the case and knowing where to look is key.

In the case The Estate of Gene B. Lokken v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., No. 23-CV-3514 (JRT/SGE) (D. Minn.), the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant insurer had denied claims using an artificial intelligence program without human review. They sought discovery into the insurer’s use of AI. When the insurer refused, they moved to compel and the Minnesota federal court granted the motion. Although this case deals with health insurance, its principles are widely applicable to all other types of insurance. Insurers are increasingly using AI to evaluate or even deny claims without human review. They also use it to challenge policyholders’ expenses as too high. Courts are beginning to allow discovery into how AI was used in the claim process. Accordingly, requests for AI chat files, use policies, and documents concerning oversight of AI should now be a standard part of every policyholder’s discovery requests in coverage litigation.

As conference and national tournaments approach for various sports, college athletics are entering a financially volatile stretch of the year. Individual investors and NIL collectives are preparing to make significant investments to build next year’s rosters and secure talent from transfer portals. With those investments, however, comes a substantial risk of loss. The risk of athlete injury looms larger than most. A season‑ending injury can derail not only a team’s performance, but also the financial expectations tied to an injured athlete. That uncertainty can, in turn, discourage future NIL investments. Booster insurance has emerged as a tailored solution to address this exact risk.

Colleges and universities have long sat at the crossroads of freedom of expression and societal change. As campus activism surges, they face growing pressure to protect their institutional missions while upholding students’ individual rights in an era of heightened scrutiny.

Higher education institutions are navigating an increasingly complex and high-visibility risk landscape. Today’s colleges and universities are not only centers of academic inquiry—they are also large employers, property owners, event venues, research enterprises, and, at times, the epicenter of national social and political debate. As a result, campus issues that might once have been handled internally by college or university leadership can now escalate quickly into litigation, regulatory scrutiny, reputational harm, and significant insurance claims. The stakes are high.