Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

In the year ahead, supply chains for corporate America will likely be vulnerable to disruptions arising from multiple risks—from natural disasters to geopolitical strife—heightening companies’ dependence on insurance to manage their risks. Bloomberg Law’s recent article, “Climate, Labor Disruptions Leave Companies Reliant on Insurers” features commentary from counsel Jorge Aviles on how insurance can help shield businesses from financial losses following a supply chain-related loss. “Any business with operations that rely on a supply chain should be looking into insurance coverage to manage risks.” That safety net “gives the company the confidence that it won’t be out of pocket,” Aviles says. “It gives the employees and managers and directors of the company confidence as well, and it gives your lenders and investors confidence that the company won’t be on the hook for these massive losses.” “Companies relying on such coverage should keep in mind the tiers of suppliers,” Aviles said. “A policy might offer coverage for a direct supplier, for example, but not an indirect supplier that’s disrupted.”

After any merger or acquisition, disputes can arise regarding the accuracy of representations and warranties made by the seller to the buyer. In most transactions today, the buyer obtains representation and warranty insurance to cover the buyer for losses resulting from the seller’s breach of a representation or warranty. When an R&W policy provides coverage, a seller may attempt to offset its obligations to the buyer by amounts paid by the R&W insurer. Likewise, the R&W insurer may attempt offset against the damages paid by the seller to the buyer. But other legal and equitable ...

HuntonAK labor and employment partner, Amber Rogers was named to Bloomberg Law’s inaugural edition of the “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” list.

Hunton special counsel Scott DeVries was quoted August 14 in a Bloomberg Law article titled “More Virus Insurance Suits Could Follow as Consolidation Fails.” The article discussed a federal panel’s refusal to centralize hundreds of businesses’ lawsuits against their insurers over pandemic-related coverage. Elaborating on the ruling, DeVries observed that “Insurance contracts are a matter of state law interpretation, so I would be surprised if there weren’t different rulings in different jurisdictions. You could see how some policyholders might have held off on ...