Coverage Insights
Connecticut Supreme Court Addresses Narrow Definition of “Collapse” Under Property Policy
In a companion case to the Karas v. Liberty Insurance Corporation case discussed in a previous entry, the Connecticut Supreme Court addressed the issue of collapse coverage under a property insurance policy which provided coverage when a building collapses and which...
Connecticut Supreme Court Addresses Collapse Coverage for Losses Arising From Defective Concrete
The Connecticut Supreme Court recently issued decisions in three cases resolving insurance coverage issues concerning the extent of coverage available for collapse of a building under property damage policies. As reported in previous entries, hundreds of...
Second Circuit Court of Appeals: Connecticut Homeowners Insurance Policy Does Not Afford Coverage for Crumbling Concrete Basement Walls
In a previous entry, I referenced the many lawsuits filed by Connecticut homeowners involving crumbling concrete basement walls, in which homeowners seek coverage under their homeowner insurance policies for damage caused by deteriorating basement walls arising from...
Connecticut Supreme Court to Address Trigger of Insurance Coverage and Pollution and Occupational Disease Exclusions in Asbestos Litigation
On March 28, 2019, the Connecticut Supreme Court will entertain oral argument in the case of R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc. v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, in which the Court will address significant insurance coverage issues that often arise in asbestos...
Issue of What Constitutes a “Collapse” Sent to Connecticut Supreme Court
There are more than fifty insurance cases pending in Connecticut courts against insurance companies arising from the denial of insurance claims under homeowner property policies for damage to homes due to defective concrete used in...
CONNECTICUT SUPREME COURT: INSURER MAY PURSUE SUBROGATION FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY TENANT’S NEGLIGENCE
Equitable subrogation is a common law doctrine that permits an insurance company which has paid its insured for a loss covered under an insurance policy to substitute itself for the insured and proceed against a third party for a loss caused by the third party. ...
EQUITABLE DOCTRINE OF SUBSTANTIAL PERFORMANCE DOES NOT EXCUSE INSURED’S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH MATERIAL TERM OF INSURANCE CONTRACT
The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled in 21st Century North American Insurance Company v. Perez, 177 Conn.App. 802 (2017), that an insured may not avoid cancellation of an automobile insurance policy for failure to pay the full amount of an installment premium...
Travelers Liable for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress For Denial of Insurance Claim Based on False Accusation of Arson
“Deep are the sorrows that spring from false ideas for which no man is culpable.” The Connecticut Appellate Court relied on this quote from George Eliot’s novel, Silas Marner, about a man falsely accused of stealing, as partial justification for affirming a trial...
Is an Insurer Obligated to Warn Policyholders of the Presence of Mold in Insured Premises?
I have had policyholders complain to me about the fact that an insurance company did not advise them about the scope of damage from a particular loss. Until recently, no Connecticut court had decided whether an insurance company has a duty to inform its policyholder...
Connecticut Supreme Court Rules that Motor Carrier Public Liability Endorsement Does Not Apply to Intrastate Transportation
In a case of interest to motor carrier policyholders and risk managers, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a federally mandated insurance endorsement that requires insurers to pay certain liability judgments against a motor carrier even if the insurance...
Welcome to Coverage Insights, a blog focused on insurance law, authored by O’Sullivan McCormack Jensen & Bliss PC trial attorney Michael McCormack. Michael has been representing clients in insurance coverage disputes and insurance recovery litigation, as well as providing insurance coverage and risk management counseling to clients for more than twenty-five years.