“Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.” -- Frank Pierson Where an automobile policy covers someone other than the named insured, a “step-down” provision may subject the amount of available coverage to the limit on “similar coverage” that is imposed by the injured person’s own policy. Sometimes, however, that second policy does not cover a particular risk at all. Last month, in Rivera v. McCray, No. A-2337-14T1 (N.J. App. Div. May 2, 2016), a New Jersey appellate ... Keep Reading »
In Examinations Under Oath, Friends Must Let Friends Testify Alone
The cooperation provisions in most personal lines insurance policies require policyholders to sit for Examinations Under Oath ("EUO") to answer questions about the validity of a claim. What if the insured refuses to attend without having his non-lawyer friend sit beside him? May the insurer insist on examining the insured without the friend in the room? That was the question in Foremost Insurance Company v. Freeman, 2016 WL 380126 (S.D. Miss. Jan. 29, 2016). When Bad ... Keep Reading »
After Pit Bull Case, Questions Dog New York’s “Unfortunate Event” Test
Where an insurance policy contains a “per occurrence” limit on coverage, New York courts apply what they call the “unfortunate event” test to determine how many “occurrences” are involved in a given claim or set of claims. The test does not apply at all, however, where the policy language indicates “an intent to aggregate separate incidents into a single occurrence.” As this blog recently discussed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in September ... Keep Reading »
Additional Insureds Deserve Attention Too: New York Court Finds Insurer’s Reservation of Rights to Named Insured Did Not Constitute Notice to Additional Insured Under § 3420(d)(2)
Liability insurers issuing or delivering policies in New York are well apprised of the statutory requirement that the insured is to be provided written notice of a disclaimer or denial of a bodily injury or death claim “as soon as is reasonably possible.” N.Y. Ins. Law § 3420(d)(2). Also well-known is that an insurer may face severe consequences from delaying issuance of a disclaimer on a ground that is known to be valid, while still investigating other possible grounds ... Keep Reading »