Cyber insurance experiencing ‘Future Shock’
8/4/22
By: Barry M. Miller and Elisabeth Gentile The idea of “Future Shock”—that an accelerated pace of change causes social and psychological disruptions—dates from Alvin Toffler’s 1970 book of the same name. As it copes with the mutable nature of cyber risks, the Insurance industry is experiencing such a shock. Insurers who write cyber liability policies…
Eleventh Circuit Finds for Insurer in COVID-19 Case of First Impression in Georgia
6/6/22
FMG partners Phil Savrin and Shawn Bingham successfully represented Allied Insurance Company of America (a Nationwide entity) in resisting a claim by a restaurant (Henry’s Louisiana Grill) seeking coverage for business income lost after it suspended its operations after the COVID-19 outbreak. The central question, which had not been decided previously under Georgia law, was…
Insureds May Look For Alternative Means To Recoup Business Losses
8/13/20
By: Matthew Jones During a time of uncertainty and civil unrest, it is important to identify where insurance coverage may come from and provide relief. It seems that most businesses look to “business interruption” coverage, which may cover loss of income and rental value due to a direct physical loss or property damage caused by a…
Insurance Requirements and First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Speech and Assembly
7/6/20
By: Jessi Samford There is no doubt that the world as we know it has changed dramatically this year, and the protests and marches amidst the global pandemic have been in the forefront of recent news. While some protests have focused on broader awareness campaigns of injustice and inequality, others are geared toward current events…
Insurer seeks declaration that COVID-19 claims for closure-related losses are not covered
4/27/20
By Barry Miller Travelers Insurance Company wants a federal court to declare it has no duty to pay business income loss to a California law firm which claims that COVID-19 closures have caused it to lose revenue. The ABA Journal reports that Travelers is seeking a declaratory judgment in the Central District of California. The…
3/20/20
By: Kristin Ingulsrud California Insurance Code section 10112.95(a) provides that insureds displaced by a declared state of emergency shall have access to medically necessary health care services. In light of Governor Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency proclamation and the continued escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak, California’s Department of Insurance (DOI) issued its “COVID-19 State of…
3/20/20
By: Zach Moura California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued three notices to insurers on March 18, 2020 related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), all aimed at ameliorating the pandemic’s impact on the both insurers and insureds. The first notice is addressed to all insurance companies and other licensees. The Commissioner recognizes that the COVID-19…
Is Flood Insurance the Next Big Thing in California?
4/19/19
By: Matthew Jones California’s winter has been quite wet given the significant amount of rain. With heavy rain comes flooding and mudslides. California is not used to either of those types of events; but maybe it should be. Recently, the Russian River flood in Sacramento, California has brought problems to residents in the region. Approximately…
Cancelling a Financed Policy: Reliance on a Power of Attorney
2/8/19
By: Eric Benedict When a prospective insured is applying for and obtaining coverage, no matter the type of risk, the cost of the premiums is likely to be a foremost concern. To cover the cost of the premium, an insured may choose to seek financing from third-party entities known as premium financing companies. In exchange for agreed…
Georgia Court of Appeals Concludes the Term “Affiliate” is Ambiguous
2/4/19
By: Jake Carroll In Salinas v. Atlanta Gas Light Company,[1] the Georgia Court of Appeals’ recently examined whether Georgia Natural Gas (“GNG”) and Atlanta Gas Light Company (“AGLC”) were “affiliates.” Both AGLC and GNG were owned and controlled, either directly or through an intermediary, by a company named AGL Resources, Inc. In Salinas, AGLC sought…
Federal Securities Laws: Has the 9th Circuit Gone Rogue Again?
2/4/19
By: John Goselin On January 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal from the Ninth Circuit’s April 20, 2018 decision in Varjabedian v. Emulex Corporation, 888 F.3d 399 (9th Cir. 2018). The Supreme Court is hearing this case to resolve a circuit split regarding whether a claim under Section 14(e)…
A Holly(cal) Jolly (Almost) Christmas
12/28/18
By: Zach Moura In what is sure to be the beginning of a slew of cases litigating coverage for injuries caused by drones, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently issued an opinion denying coverage under an aircraft exclusion in the drone operator’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company…