Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

Last week, in an exciting moment, the U.S. House of Representatives, voted 321 to 103 in favor of H.R.1595, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 (“SAFE Banking Act”). If enacted into law, the SAFE Banking Act, would provide financial institutions, including insurers, a safe harbor to do business with “cannabis-related legitimate businesses” in the United States. In particular, the act would protect insurers, independent agents, and brokers from criminal and civil liability when offering insurance coverage to state-legalized cannabis businesses. The SAFE Banking Act would grant the cannabis business community access to many of the financial services most companies take for granted, like electronic payment processing, employer-sponsored 401(k) accounts and small business loans.

In a recent decision, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reiterated that the duty to defend broadly requires a liability insurer to defend an entire lawsuit against its insured, even where only some of the allegations are potentially covered.  The court further held that the insured has no obligation to apportion defense costs among multiple implicated policies.  The decision, Selective Way Insurance Company v. Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company, et al., can be found here.

Latosha M. Ellis, an associate in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Insurance Coverage Practice, was recently named to The National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 class of 2019.

When facing a crisis, such as product recall or a cyber attack, companies routinely engage third-party consultants. When doing so, there are potential privilege issues involved. Hunton Andrews Kurth insurance attorneys Syed Ahmad and Adriana A. Perez discuss these privilege issues in an article published by Westlaw. The full article is available here. In the article, the authors discuss the recent decision in Stardock Systems Inc. v. Reiche, which explores when communications with third-party consultants, such as public relations professionals, are ...

The members of Hunton’s Insurance Recovery group present regularly on today’s hot topic insurance coverage issues. Upcoming insurance presentations for November 2019 include:

• Walter J. Andrews will be presenting on Experts and Their Role in Bad Faith Litigation at the 2019 Insurance Law Symposium at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida on November 1, 2019.
• John C. Eichman will be presenting on Pursuing the Insured’s Claim at the ABA’s 2019 Fidelity & Surety Law Fall Conference in Boston, Massachusetts on November 7, 2019.
• Syed S. Ahmad will be presenting with ...

The Fall 2019 Edition of The ALI Reporter recognizes Hunton partner Lorelie S. Masters for her significant contributions to the new Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance (RLLI). The RLLI was approved by the American Law Institute (ALI) at its 2018 Annual Meeting and published in late September 2019. In 2010, Lorie was one of 40 attorneys invited to serve as an Adviser to the Restatement, and she was heavily involved throughout the life of the eight-year project.

On October 16, 2019, Hunton Andrews Kurth insurance lawyers Michael S. Levine and Daniel Hentschel discussed insurance coverage issues concerning blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in an article published by IRMI (Insurance Risk Management Institute, Inc.). The full article is available here. In the article, the authors discuss the potential risks associated with the use of the revolutionary technology and the potential coverage gaps that may arise in certain insurance policies.

After a four-day trial, an Arizona federal jury found that Western Truck Insurance Services, Inc., an insurance broker, was negligent in selling Madison Alley Transportation and Logistics Inc. a business interruption policy with inadequate annual limits. Based on its finding of negligence, the jury determined that the broker was liable for $685,000 of $1,000,000 in damages suffered by Madison Alley as a result of a flood in its warehouse.  The verdict and Complaint, filed in Arizona state court before the case was removed, can be found here and here.

Recent headlines underscore the security challenges faced by public-facing businesses. From physical threats to cyber attacks targeting a wide range of critical infrastructure, companies in diverse sectors, such as the financial, retail, entertainment, energy, transportation, real estate, communications and other areas, face a challenging landscape of risks and potential liabilities. Join us on October 28, 2019, at 12:00 p.m. EST, for a webinar to discuss these issues, including why companies should consider SAFETY Act protection and how to obtain it.