BarbriSFCourseDetails

Course Details

This CLE webinar will review the wide variety and range of answers to the complex and increasingly important issues of whether and under what circumstances a commercial general liability or other policy will cover an award of punitive damages against the insured. The program will also discuss best strategies for analyzing this coverage issue.

Faculty

Description

Punitive damages are available in most civil litigation. Some courts of last resort have held that insurance coverage may be relevant to the appropriate measure of punitive damages. Yet many liability policies are silent about coverage for punitive damages.

Courts award punitive damages for egregious conduct, but states differ regarding the type and degree of conduct that rises to that level. Culpability affects insurability. Thus, the choice of law can be crucial to this inquiry.

Even in the many states that specifically allow insurance coverage for punitive damages, significant variation exists regarding the standard of conduct for coverage, the nature of liability, and other issues. Even states that prohibit coverage have exceptions. States that don't prohibit coverage for punitive damages often have confusing standards or even no standards and guidelines.

Listen as this panel of experienced coverage attorneys guides insurance counsel through the nuanced analysis for determining whether punitive damages are insurable.

Outline

  1. Policy language
  2. Jurisdictional treatment of insurability
  3. Rationales for and against insurability
  4. Practical considerations
  5. Questions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other pivotal issues:

  • What factors influence the insurability of punitive damages?
  • Can plaintiffs plead into coverage?
  • How does insurability affect settlement decisions?
  • Does insuring punitive damages benefit the wrongdoer or society?