Technical terms in the fine print of an insurance policy are often critical to understanding the insured's rights. These terms often have definitions that differ from the normal dictionary definition. In one case, for instance, a court ruled that school busses are not automobiles under a particular insurance policy. The recent ruling in McLaughlin v. …
Insurers who deny coverage on an unreasonable basis and get sued by their insureds often try to retroactively change their basis for denying coverage. A recent Washington Court of Appeals decision illustrates why this strategy typically fails. Nathaniel and Jennifer Cummings owned a home in Western Washington that they rented out. The Cummings purchased homeowners …
Continue reading WA Appeals Court Confirms Insurers Can’t Make Coverage Denials A Moving Target
Many ERISA plans give the claims administrator (often an insurance company) discretionary authority to interpret the evidence and the terms of the employee benefit plan in deciding claims. This discretionary authority makes it difficult for claimants to overturn claim denials because court defer to decisions made using this authority. But ERISA recognizes that claims administrators …
Amy Coney Barrett was recently confirmed to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg is remembered as a champion of civil rights and gender justice. But Ginsburg is also responsible for some of the Court's most important ERISA decisions. This invites us to look back on some of Justice Ginsburg's most …
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over Washington and other western states) recently decided a novel question regarding so-called "excess" insurance coverage. Excess insurance exists where a person or entity has two layers of insurance: a "primary" insurer that provides coverage up to a specific dollar amount, and a …
