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Time-Limited Demands for Policy Limits: Avoiding Bad Faith Claims When Evaluating and Responding on Limited Information

Avoiding Improper Rejection or Non-Payment, Reasonableness, Safe Harbors, Building the Case for Summary Judgment on Bad Faith Claims

A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 (in 4 days)

1:00pm-2:30pm EDT, 10:00am-11:30am PDT

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE course will guide counsel in responding to time-limited demands for payment of the policy limits without drawing a claim for bad faith. The panel will discuss controlling law and statutes, requests that do and do not trigger insurer obligations, safe harbors that may excuse a response, and strategies for summary judgment should a bad faith claim be filed.

Description

A time-limited policy limits demand to a defendant's insurer is a frequent tool used by plaintiff's lawyers in an attempt to force crucial decisions on limited information and with very little time to decide. Bad faith liability can arise from the improper rejection or non-payment of a time-limited demand, often without showing intentional wrongdoing or motive.

What constitutes a valid demand that triggers the obligation to respond and what constitutes a proper response has generated a broad body of case law. Statutory or judge-made "safe harbors" may allow a range of responses, but these rules can be narrowly construed and easily misinterpreted.

If a bad faith claim is filed, the reasonableness standards that apply in a time-limited demand situation make summary judgment challenging but by no means impossible, as demonstrated by recent decisions in key jurisdictions.

Listen as this experienced panel of insurance attorneys guides counsel through responding to time-limited demands and offers a roadmap to summary judgment if a bad faith case is filed.

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Outline

  1. Essential elements of a policy-limits, time-limited demand
  2. Standards for evaluation of time-limited demands
    1. Statutory
    2. Common law
    3. Covered vs. uncovered claims
  3. Safe harbors
  4. Roadmap to summary judgment if bad faith alleged

Benefits

The panel will review these and other pivotal issues:

  • Who can make a time-limited demand, and is client consent required?
  • Does the insurer have a duty to settle or a duty to make reasonable settlement decisions?
  • Must the demand include any particular information?
  • What is the importance of releases, indemnification, and lien treatment offered or omitted from a demand?
  • Can the insurer consider coverage defenses or questionable liability when responding?

Faculty

Bertschi, Scott
Scott F. Bertschi

Partner
Clyde & Co US

Mr. Bertschi focuses his practice on insurance coverage, professional liability defense and data breach response. He...  |  Read More

Hudgins, Rachel
Rachel E. Hudgins

Attorney
Hunton Andrews Kurth

Ms. Hudgins represents clients in complex insurance coverage and bad faith litigation.

 |  Read More
Levin, Jay
Jay M. Levin

Shareholder
Flaster Greenberg

Mr. Levin is a member of Flaster Greenberg’s Insurance Counseling and Recovery and Litigation Practice...  |  Read More

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Cannot Attend October 15?

You may pre-order a recording to listen at your convenience. Recordings are available 48 hours after the webinar. Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

To find out which recorded format will provide the best CLE option, select your state:

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