A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Does the insured breach the policy by waiving the insurer's right to a credit for workers' compensation? In Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am. v. ConocoPhillips Co., No. 06-15664 (9th Cir. Oct. 20, 2008), the Court held the policy was not breached by the insured's waiver.
During a fire at…
The Indiana Supreme Court recently aligned itself with the Hawaii Supreme Court in deciding an insurance policy could not be assigned without the insurer's consent. Travelers Cas. and Sur. Co. v. United States Filter Corp., 2008 Ind. LEXIS 953 (Ind. Sup. Ct. Oct. 15, 2008). The holding in Travelers is consistent with the…
In Southern Surgery Center, LLC v. Fidelity and Guaranty Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79971 (S. D. Miss., Oct. 8, 2008), United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company ("USF&G") insured a building owned by Southern Development Resources, LLC ("SDR"). A different insurer, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company, insured two other companies related…
Does the insurer act in bad faith when there is no excess judgment against the insured? Further, is there bad faith when the insurer’s actions never resulted in the insured’s increased exposure to liability for more than the policy limits? These two issues confronted the Eleventh Circuit in Perera v. United States Fidelity …
In today’s post, we return to the federal maritime doctrine of uberrimae fidei, previously reviewed here. Should the doctrine, which requires an insured to exercise the utmost good faith and disclose to the insurer all facts material to an insurance risk, apply when considering coverage under a marine policy? The Third…
If, after being fully compensated for injuries, the insured assigns her rights to underinsured benefits to another insurer, is the insurer entitled to the insured’s right to benefits? The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals answered no in AIG Hawaii Ins. Co. v. State Farm Ins. Co., No. 27789 (Haw. Ct. App. Oct.
If an insurer pays for repairs to a building based on the insured’s preliminary estimate of damage, does the insured have further obligations to pay for property damage? This was one of the issues in Chateau Argonne Condominium Assoc. v. State Farm Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70917 (E.D. La. Sept.
In Federated Rural Elec. Ins. Corp. v. TIG Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20268 (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2008), the issue was whether an excess, following form policy excluded coverage for "sinkhole collapse" under its earth movement exclusion.
TIG’s excess policy excluded "earth movement," but did not define "earth…
In a recommended decision, a United States magistrate determined the insurer was entitled to attorney fees under Hawaii’s assumpsit statute, Haw. Rev. Stat. 607-14. See Deguchi v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73072 (D. Haw. Sept. 23, 2008).
A prior post discussed the facts of Deguchi. Briefly…
In Hawaii Management Alliance Assoc. v. Schmidt, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69995 (D. Haw. Sept. 5, 2008), the the insured ("HMAA"), a mutual benefit society, challenged a memorandum issued by the Hawaii Insurance Commissioner which stated granting a plan administrator discretionary authority so as to deprive the insured of a de novo…
