Commercial Litigation

Insurance Coverage

The firm has a multi-faceted practice in the area of insurance law. We routinely advise businesses regarding coverage issues, respond to insurers’ reservations of rights and disclaimers of coverage, address claims that exceed applicable insurance limits, and the like.

We also enjoy strong relationships with insurance companies who retain us to defend their insureds in a wide variety of litigation. We strive to achieve the best possible working relationship between the insurer and the insured and to implement a well thought out litigation strategy that is achieved through close communication with the assigned claim administrator.

Our insurance practice also involves defending direct actions against insurance companies, often involving large amounts of claimed damages. Many cases involve interpretation of policy clauses and exclusions, multiple policies, layers of coverage and reinsurance, as well as claims of “bad faith” on the part of the insurance company. We also assist insurers in managing claims so as to avoid litigation -- particularly litigation arising out of demands for independent defense counsel in response to a reservation of rights and demands for settlement within policy limits.

We have considerable experience handling suits against commercial insurance brokers, cases involving alleged misrepresentation, actionable sales practices and other alleged wrongdoing on the part of company agents, as well as state regulatory issues and proceedings. The firm also has substantial experience in representing insurers before state and federal regulatory agencies, including in connection with market conduct examinations.

The attorneys in our Group have technical knowledge regarding various types of insurance policies, including Commercial General Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Director & Officer, Professional Liability, Excess and Umbrella, as well as the types of claims which commonly arise in connection with various insurance products and programs. We join our knowledge of the insurance industry with a responsive defense of the insurer.

Practice highlights:

• We are retained by insurance and claim administration companies to defend insureds in a wide variety of litigation, including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, work site accidents and exposures, and tort suits filed against businesses, such as malicious prosecution, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.
  
  
• We specialize in representing commercial insurance brokers. Our clients include some of the largest brokers in the United States and internationally.
  
  
• We guide businesses in communicating with their agents and insurers when responding to a loss, claim or suit.
  
  
• Cases we defend for insurance companies often touch on other areas of the law, such as employment law, workers’ compensation, and product liability. Our Group can easily draw on the resources and expertise of other Butler Snow lawyers in these specialties when necessary.
  
  
• Attorneys in our insurance law practice are active members of the ABA Litigation Section, Defense Research Institute (“DRI”), and ABA/TIPS (Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section) Insurance Litigation Committee. We regularly participate in national conferences addressing the latest developments in insurance law.
  
  
• We recently prevailed in a major appeal challenging an insurer’s exclusion of coverage for punitive damages.
  
  
• We successfully defeated a series of credit insurance mass tort claims, concerning sales practices at issue with over 4000 claimants.
  
  
• We have successfully defended numerous Collateral Protection Insurance cases for both insurers and lenders.
  
  
• We have successfully defended suits against insurance brokers, including claims alleging improper “contingent commissions.”
  
  
• We have represented excess insurers in major tort cases, including those in which we monitor the defense provided by the primary carrier and those in which the excess carrier has disputed coverage.
  
  
• The insurance companies who have retained us to defend insureds include some of the largest carriers in the world, as well as mid-sized, regional, and specialty carriers.

For additional information on Insurance Coverage, please contact Robert M. Frey or Randall D. Noel.