About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will alert counsel who works for, with, or against insurance carriers to the dangers of eroding insurance policies, also known as defense-within-limits policies. When every dollar spent on legal fees reduces funds available to settle a case or pay a judgment, all involved must take extra steps to avoid tapping out all available insurance coverage.
Description
Under an eroding insurance policy, the same pool of funds that pays defense costs also pays settlement or judgment. The tension between mounting a vigorous defense and preserving policy limits to put toward settlement (or satisfy a judgment) raises concerns for all involved, from the client to counsel to the insurer.
This dynamic presents issues of liability arising out of potential or actual conflict. Counsel must take immediate steps to mitigate such exposure. The plaintiff counsel must balance litigating the claim and increasing defense expenses versus preserving insurance proceeds funds for the plaintiff.
Insurers are subject to scrutiny as well. Some jurisdictions place restrictions on such policies or place outright bans on them, creating choice-of-law and forum challenges. Even without such limits, the specter of bad faith claims remains.
Listen as the panel provides various perspectives on this set of legal difficulties and provides the tools necessary to address issues of walking the tightrope between zealous representation and preservation of funds. Not only will the panel discuss topics for counsel, but there will be an in-depth analysis of legality and bad faith.
Presented By
Mr. Armstong focuses his practice exclusively on representing corporate policyholders in high-stakes insurance recovery matters. He represents privately held and publicly traded companies against primary and excess insurers to secure and maximize coverage under cyber, property, commercial general liability, D&O, E&O, and other insurance policies. Mr. Armstong has extensive experience counseling clients at all stages of an insurance claim life cycle: from negotiation of insurance policy language, to ensuring that complex claims are properly characterized in order to avoid improper denials, to litigating adverse coverage decisions when necessary.
Mr. Pickering’s legal experience includes many years of experience in insurance litigation at both the trial and appellate level in various state and federal jurisdictions. In recent years, an increasing number of both primary and excess/umbrella insurers have turned to him for legal counsel as to their rights, duties, and development of appropriate strategies under the Stowers doctrine in responding to settlement demands for their policy limits.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- Plaintiff counsel issues: zealousness and erosion
- Defendant counsel issues
- Balancing client demands for defense with preservation of funds
- Insurer relationship
- Insurer issues
- Public policy/legality issues
- Bad faith
- Pretrial settlement and mediation
The panel will review these and other notable matters:
- What are the characteristics of an eroding policy?
- What client concerns need to be addressed by plaintiff and defense counsel?
- How can insurer risks and exposures be levered (or mitigated)?
Related Courses
Insurance Policy Interpretation: Recurring Issues, Ambiguities, Exclusions, Plain Meaning, Burdens of Proof, and More
Thursday, January 22, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
Allocation of Liability and Exhaustion of Policy Limits: Policyholder and Carrier Perspectives
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
