July 6, 2020
This morning, I wrote an article for the CPCU CLEW (Coverage, Litigators, Educators & Witnesses) Interest Group called “On Becoming an Insurance Coverage Nerd.” This afternoon, in this column, I get to demonstrate one of the values of being a …
June 1, 2020
Last month, I shared a claim I had consulted on involving mobile equipment. The adjuster had incorrectly denied the claim because he failed to read both the definition of “mobile equipment” and the exclusion that referenced the definition. When determining …
May 4, 2020
Just Because It’s Not Covered Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Covered … The Entirety of Contract Doctrine – Part 1 An invariable practice of the late, great Don Malecki, CPCU, was that, when serving as an expert witness in a contested …
April 6, 2020
An elderly widow in Kentucky was admitted to a nursing home to recuperate from surgery. During her convalescence, her nonresident children visited the home frequently, though no one spent the night there, prepared meals, or otherwise lived in the home. …
March 24, 2020
On March 16, a lawsuit was filed in district court in New Orleans seeking a declaratory judgment about whether the business income coverage in a Lloyd’s property policy would cover a government-mandated shutdown or curtailment of a restaurant due to …
March 9, 2020
For a number of years, I’ve done a workshop called “The Adventures of Ace Insura, Claims Detective.” Participants assist Ace in solving a variety of coverage and claims mysteries. Each case has one or more learning points that cumulatively lay …
February 24, 2020
For much of the country, ’tis the season to beware of frozen water pipes. In this month’s column, we examine two such real-life claims from the Dakotas, one personal lines and the other commercial lines. Both are good examples of …
January 27, 2020
Last year, I wrote a 12-part series of Insurance Journal columns based on my book “When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes” where I shared the principles and practices I’ve applied over the past 30-plus years in resolving …
November 4, 2019
In the past two columns, we examined eight legal and contractual principles nonlawyers can use to resolve most claim disputes without litigation. In this month’s column, we’ll wrap up this discussion with nine other principles. Entirety of Contract By now, …
October 7, 2019
Last month’s column began a three-part series on legal and contractual principles that can be used to resolve most coverage and claim disputes without litigation. Just as you do not have to be an attorney to resolve a contract dispute, …