Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

A panel of the California Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion (Stein v. Axis Ins. Co., (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 8, 2017, No. B265069) 2017 WL 914623), issued March 8, 2017, held that a policy exclusion requiring "final adjudication" did not support a refusal to pay the policyholder's defense costs by Houston Casualty Company (HCC) following a trial court's entry of judgment where the policyholder still could pursue appeal.

A panel of the California Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion (Stein v. Axis Ins. Co., (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 8, 2017, No. B265069) 2017 WL 914623), issued March 8, 2017, held that a policy exclusion requiring "final adjudication" did not support a refusal to pay the policyholder's defense costs by Houston Casualty Company (HCC) following a trial court's entry of judgment where the policyholder still could pursue appeal.

Policyholders are often surprised to hear that their policies cover more than the run-of-the-mill claim. For example, a general liability policy may cover a cyber-related loss. See our prior post. As a more recent example, a federal court in South Carolina found that a parent’s homeowners’ policy obligated an insurer to defend a college student against hazing allegations. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Ingraham, No. 7:15-cv-3212 (D.S.C. Mar. 14, 2017).

A federal district court judge in Connecticut recently agreed that an insurer did not owe coverage under a “claims-made” D&O liability insurance policy where the policyholder failed to give timely notice of a suit arising from a loan default.  Although the ruling killed the claim, the decision also offered guidance on two critical – and commonly cited – exclusions: the “related claim” and “pending or prior claim” exclusions.  The court held that neither exclusion applied under the factual nexus test used by the court, reminding policyholders and insurers alike that ...

Cyber and crime insurance policies have been heavily recommended to address the growing prevalence and types of cyber risks.  Walter Andrews and Jennifer White recently authored an article appearing in Risk Management discussing how the purchase of cyber and crime insurance policies alone is not enough to successfully manage these risks. These policies must be carefully evaluated and tailored to the particulars of each organization. The full article is available here. In the article, Andrews and White identify four key questions that every organization must ask when purchasing ...

Attorneys Syed Ahmad and Jennifer White contributed to the Hunton Retail Law Resource’s “Recall Roundup” for the month of February with a discussion of Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company’s suit against CRF Frozen Foods, LLC.  Starr seeks to rescind the a product contamination policy based on allegations that, during the insurance application process, CRF failed to disclose “violations” identified by Washington State and federal inspectors which, Starr claims, were likely to give rise to CRF’s 2016 recall of frozen vegetables.  See Starr Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. CRF Frozen Foods, LLC, No. 1:17-cv-01030 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 10, 2017). Starr’s suit comes on the heels of its success before the Third Circuit earlier this year, when the court affirmed Starr’s rescission of the accidental contamination policy issued to Heinz.  Read more about the case.

As posted earlier today on Hunton & Williams' Retail and Privacy blogs, and as reported in Law360, Hunton & Williams announces the formation of a cross-disciplinary legal team dedicated to guiding companies through the minefield of regulatory and cyber-related risks associated with high-stakes corporate mergers and acquisitions.

As posted earlier today on Hunton & Williams' Retail and Privacy blogs, and as reported in Law360, Hunton & Williams announces the formation of a cross-disciplinary legal team dedicated to guiding companies through the minefield of regulatory and cyber-related risks associated with high-stakes corporate mergers and acquisitions.

The ABA announced last week that it would supplement its insurance coverage offerings to include cyber insurance. Chubb Limited will underwrite the insurance, which the ABA said “includes cyber coverage for a firm’s own expenses, such as network extortion, income loss and forensics, associated with a cyber-incident as well as for liability protection and defense costs.”

In its press release, the ABA referenced the revelations late last year that Chinese citizens had hacked two law firms to obtain information regarding mergers. The hackers then used that insider ...

Earlier today, Hunton & Williams LLP insurance coverage lawyer Andrea DeFIeld was named “Rookie of the Year” by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in their annual HYPE Awards ceremony.  The awards recognize Miami-Dade County’s brightest young professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their professions.  Andi certainly has done that, and much more, said Hunton’s Insurance Coverage practice leader, Walter Andrews, who attended the awards ceremony with Andi.  Andrews added, “Andi is an integral part of our practice and a leader among young ...