A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The insurer's cancellation of a policy based upon a misrepresentation of the vehicle being covered was deemed justified by the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeal in Farmer v. Pacific Specialty Ins. Co., 2010 Haw. App. LEXIS 525 (Haw. Ct. App., Sept. 30, 2010).
The insured purchased a policy for a used motorcycle…
After flood coverage was denied, the insured sued under state law theories. See Worthen v. Galveston Ins. Associates, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94925 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 13, 2010). The district court dismissed the state law claims on preemption grounds.
The insured purchased a flood policy on August 10, 2007 for his home…
Can an insured settle a disputed claim with its first party insurer and then sue the insurer for allegedly fraudulently inducing a settlement of the claim for less than it is worth? The California Supreme Court answered no in Village Northridge Homeowners Assoc. v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2010 Cal. LEXIS…
The insured had a commercial property policy with Lexington. Coverage included $25 million in losses for business interruption. See Consolidated Co. Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17146 (5th Cir. Aug. 17, 2010).
Hurricane Katrina damaged the insured's property and equipment. The insured was able, however, to resume partial operations ten days…
When both a covered risk and a non-covered risk cause some of the property damage, which party bears the burden of identifying the discrete items of property that were damaged and proving what portion of the damage was caused by a non-covered or excluded risk? See Bayle v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2010 U.S.
Although the insurer contended the Texas Supreme Court had previously decided that mold was never covered under a homeowner's policy, the Court found coverage for mold damage to personal property in State Farm Lloyds v. Page, 2010 Tex. LEXIS 415 (Tex. June 22, 2010).
The insured discovered mold and water damage to…
The Fifth Circuit considered whether the district court properly determined that an excess policy covered flood, but that coverage was limited under the policy's anti-concurrent causation clause (post on district court's prior decision here). The appellate court reversed in part and remanded. Stewart Enter., Inc. v. RSUI Indem. Co., Inc., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16555(5th…
The Fifth Circuit asked the Louisiana Supreme Court whether a policy's anti-assignment clause prohibited post-loss assignments of policy rights. See In Re: Katrina Canal Breaches Litigation, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 15603 (5th Cir. July 28, 2010).
After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana distributed federal funds to homeowners under its "Road Home" program for repair…
If the insured misrepresents that it owns the insured property, can the insurer void the policy? In Grenoble House Hotel v. Hanover Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75355 (E.D. La. July 26, 2010), the court denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment seeking to void the policy on misrepresentation grounds.
Hanover…
The Fifth Circuit considered the impact on coverage when an anti-concurrent causation clause seems to be contradicted by a "reverse" anti-concurrent causation clause in an endorsement. See Penthouse Owners Assoc., Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 14531 (5th Cir. July 14, 2010).
Penthouse's property was completely destroyed by Hurricane…
