A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Two endorsements precluded coverage for cyber theft experienced by the insured. Midlothian Enterprises, Inc. v. Owners Insurance Company, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30237 (E.D. Va. Feb. 20, 2020).
JoAnne Davis received an email from the Midlothian president and shareholder, E. Bryce Powell, asking her to wire money to a specified bank…
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's denial of the policy holder's assignment to his contractor of claims under his homeowners policy. 33 Carpenters Construction, Inc v. Cincinnati Ins. Co.,2020 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 15 (Iowa Feb. 14, 2020).
The insured's home suffered damage from a hailstorm and windstorm. He…
The insurer's motion to dismiss a bad faith count was granted because the existence of coverage was "fairly debatable" under New Jersey law. Merchants Mut. Ins. Co. v. 215 14th St., LLC, 2020 U.S. District. LEXIS 23664 (D. N. J. Feb. 10, 2020).
Coverage for damage to the insured's commercial building…
The court rejected the insurer's attempt to dismiss a collapse case on a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. Peoria Prop. Invs. LLC v. Cincinnati Indemn. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17350 (C.D. Ill. Jan. 31, 2020).
The policy covered a nine-story building which had offices on the first floor…
Most property policies provide coverage for property damage only when there is "direct physical loss" to covered property. Early indications are that the coronavirus remains on surfaces. The duration can last from a few hours to three weeks, depending on the type of surface material. If an employee is infected and the store…
Last week, the first lawsuit was filed seeking insurance coverage for business-interruption due to losses caused by COVID-19. The case, Cajun Conti, LLC, et al. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London, ,et al., was filed in Louisiana. A New Orleans restaurant, Oceana Grill," seeks a declaratory judgment that its "all risks" policy…
The court found direct physical loss was established, allowing coverage for a ransomware attack on the insured's computer server and networked computers. Nat'l Ink & Stitch, LLC v. State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11411 (D. Md. Jan. 23, 2020).
The insured stored art, logos…
Accepting the insured's amended complaint, the federal district court of Hawaii remanded the coverage action to state court. Hale v. Lloyd's, London, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9061 (D. Haw. Jan. 17, 2020).
Hale purchased a policy for his home in Hilo, Hawaii, from Defendant Pyramid Insurance Centre. The policy was…
The Eleventh Circuit agreed that a sophisticated phishing scheme that persuaded an employee to wire money to a foreign bank account was a direct physical loss covered under a commercial crime policy. Principle Solutions Group, LLC v. Ironshore Indemn., Inc.,2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36350 (11th Cir. Dec, 9, 2019).
At…
A bill prohibiting the use of anti-concurrent causation clauses in homeowners' insurance policies has been introduced before the New Jersey legislature. The bill is here.
Under an anti-concurrent causation clause, the policy bars coverage if two perils (i.e., wind and water damage) contribute to a loss and one peril is…
