Insurer's Duties to Excess Carrier and Bad Faith: Litigating Cooperation, Settlement, and Disclosure

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Insurance
- event Date
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will guide counsel through the duties and rights between primary and excess carriers, the primary carrier's potential for extracontractual damages to the excess insurer, and the potential claim for the excess insurer to incur extracontractual damages for breaching its duties to the insured. The panel will address solutions to problems that can surface when the primary insurer zealously advocates against liability while trying to accurately discuss risk with the excess carrier or the insured.
Faculty

Mr. Cavallo is an insurance coverage litigator representing insurers in high-value cases in state and federal courts. His practice involves drafting coverage opinions and memoranda analyzing his clients’ rights and obligations under complex insurance contracts and providing advice to claims personnel and assigned counsel concerning a wide variety of coverage issues.

Mr. Tranen is an accomplished litigator who has handled matters across the litigation spectrum throughout the U.S. during his 18-year legal career. His practice ranges from the defense of entities in mass tort and single-claim product liability matters, class actions and insurance coverage matters to employment, transportation, environmental, toxic torts and commercial litigation disputes. Mr. Tranen is a recurrent speaker and author on many of these topics.

Mr. Leonard is a shareholder in Anderson Kill's New York, NY office. He is Co-Chair of Anderson Kill's Financial Services Group and Biometric Liability Practice Group. As a policyholder attorney, Mr. Leonard has experience obtaining coverage under insurance policies relating to directors and officers liability, business interruption, general liability, environmental liability, health benefits, property damage, asbestos products, and crime losses. He has represented financial service providers, railroads, hospitals, hospitality organizations, consulting firms, municipalities, manufacturers, and retailers. Mr. Leonard frequently speaks on topics such as privacy law and regulations, contract negotiation and risk transfer, and insurance considerations for financial institutions. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for Insurance Coverage since 2018, and was recommended by The Legal 500 in 2023.
Description
The duties and obligations existing between the primary insurer and the excess insurer that has contracted with the insured are labyrinthine. The primary insurer and the excess insurer both have a contract with the insured, but not with each other.
Untangling the web of issues requires understanding the relationship between the different insurers and how different jurisdictions have dealt with the myriad conflicts that arise.
In some jurisdictions the excess insurer enjoys a right to cooperation from both its insured and the primary insurer. The primary insurer has an implied duty to advise the excess insurer of potential excess exposure and to fairly and in good faith handle and negotiate the settlement of a claim within the primary limits. When these obligations are breached, the excess carrier may have claims against the primary insurer or the insured.
Listen as this experienced panel discusses the bases for actions by and against the excess carrier, the typical fact patterns giving rise to claims, and current strategies for both the primary and the excess carrier.
Outline
- Duties owed to excess insurer
- Extra-contractual theories of liability
- Extra-contractual liability for excess carrier
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What duties are owed to the excess carrier by the insured and the primary carriers?
- When do the duties owed to the excess carrier arise?
- What duties does the excess carrier owe to the other insureds and insurers?
- Are there fact patterns where the primary would be prohibited from fulfilling its duties to the excess carrier?
- Who controls the relevant privileges?
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