Excess Insurer's Duty to Defend and Indemnify: Exhaustion, Claims Not Covered by Primary, Defense Cost Reimbursement
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide counsel to insurers and policyholders with an analysis of the scope of an excess insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify and a review of the most commonly disputed issues and how to respond.
Outline
- Scope of the duty to defend
- Absence of underlying exhaustion
- Claims not covered by primary insurer
- Insolvency of primary insurer
- Duty to reimburse defense costs
- Consent requirement
- Interpretation of definition of loss
- Reasonableness of defense costs
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Will the excess insurer be obligated to reimburse the insured for defense costs—or assume the principal obligation to defend?
- Must an excess insurer contribute to a settlement if the primary policy has not in fact paid its full limits (sometimes referred to as the Zeig issue) and are insurance policies changing in response to decided cases?
- Will the insolvency of the primary insurer trigger the excess policy to drop down to provide a defense?
- How can counsel address exhaustion of primary coverage in mass tort or major liability litigation such that excess coverage is in play?
- The inconsistency of courts in demanding strict analysis and adherence to policy language and how should counsel prepare?
- Is the defense obligation of an excess insurer outside of policy limits or subject to the policy limit for “ultimate net loss”?
Faculty
Marc S. Mayerson
Principal
The Mayerson Firm
Mr. Mayerson specializes in complex insurance-coverage disputes including litigation, settlement and advice, and... | Read More
Mr. Mayerson specializes in complex insurance-coverage disputes including litigation, settlement and advice, and has appeared as counsel in actions seeking insurance recovery for environmental liabilities, asbestos bodily injury claims, product-liability claims, medical-device liability, fidelity losses, errors-and-omissions liability and employment-practices liability matters.
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Scott M. Seaman
Co-Chair Global Insurance Services Practice Group
Hinshaw & Culbertson
Mr. Seaman's practice focuses on insurance, reinsurance, and commercial law and litigation. He has represented... | Read More
Mr. Seaman's practice focuses on insurance, reinsurance, and commercial law and litigation. He has represented companies in trial courts, appellate courts, and arbitrations nationwide in numerous high stakes matters, including cases involving general liability coverage, professional liability coverage, first-party property coverage, bad faith matters and facultative and treaty reinsurance contracts.
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