News & Resources

THE INSURANCE COMPANY’S OPTIONS WHEN SETTLING AFTER RESERVING ITS RIGHTS Assuming coverage, or at least its ostensible existence, insurance companies are supposed to settle third-party claims against their insureds lest the anodyne of bad faith liability be unleashed. Insurance companies often do not agree wholeheartedly with the policyholder that coverage exists. A potent weapon in the arsenal of rights preserved to insurance companies by their insurance policies and statutory and common law is the reservation […]

“Nobody expects the insurance industry’s response to claims of coverage for a problem of the magnitude of Year 2000 liability to be open arms.” Europe in the year 999 approached the millennium’s end in barely concealed panic. Many of the nobility, in furtherance of the widespread religious belief that the world would come to a close along with the first millennium, deeded their entire lands and material goods to the church with the expectation of […]

Anyone who has ever been involved in what proves to be a relatively minor car accident knows that one of the biggest headaches from the entire ordeal comes from the damage to their vehicle.

Indeed, the headache rapidly reaches migraine proportions if their vehicle, which was otherwise in good working order, was totaled, such that they’re left looking for a new means of suitable transportation.

Just five years ago, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state-run insurer of “last resort” for those Florida property owners unable to secure coverage on the private market, saw the ranks of policyholders mushroom to 1.5 million.

However, thanks to everything from the ten-year absence of hurricanes to the state’s “depopulation” program that created incentives for private insurers to start taking on more Citizen’s policyholders, this number has since fallen to 450,000.

Last time, our blog began discussing how many businesses make the strategic decision to purchase directors and officers liability insurance, otherwise known as D&O insurance, to insulate their corporate leaders from liability for claims made against them while serving in this official capacity.

Specifically, we examined how the D&O insurance purchased by everyone from privately held firms and for-profit businesses to non-profit organizations and educational institutions is comprised of elements known as “Sides.” We’ll continue our examination of this topic in today’s post.

It goes without saying that for any business, the primary objective is always improving the bottom line, meaning its net earnings. While this, of course, can be accomplished by simultaneously growing revenue and cutting costs, it can also be realized to a certain extent through defensive measures like securing the necessary business insurance policies.

While these business insurance policies safeguard the enterprise itself, it’s important to understand that this coverage does not extend to individual company officers, meaning they may be left personally exposed to financial losses stemming from a lawsuit.