Well-established law requires that an insured be made whole before recoveries benefit an insurer. When an insured’s losses exceed policy limits, any additional recovery made by the insured should inure to the benefit of the insured to offset losses above policy limits. Only after the insured is made whole is the insurer entitled to reimbursement.
Parties to a lawsuit may have vastly different perspectives on the validity and value of a claim, but as a matter of course, the issue of settlement will arise. Trial is an exceedingly expensive endeavor with an uncertain result. From a risk management perspective, the decision to settle is critical. Yet under liability policies that
It is long-standing law in Florida (and elsewhere) that an insurer can deny a claim when it was prejudiced by a policyholder’s failure to provide timely notice. However, there has been some debate in recent years about whose burden it is to prove that the insurer was prejudiced, especially in property insurance claims involving Citizens
An insurer defending a claim against an insured that could exceed policy limits has a good faith obligation to settle the claim if possible. Failure to do so puts a nonsettling insurer at grave risk. An Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision shows that one insurer’s response to a policy limits settlement opportunity can be