Expanding Government Action Exclusion: Insurer and Policyholder Perspectives
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Insurance
- event Date
Thursday, August 28, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE webinar will guide insurance counsel through the government action exclusion found in homeowners and commercial property and auto insurance policies, explore why it is increasingly being read to exclude losses only incidentally related to government actions, review differing court interpretations of the exclusion, and offer best arguments for insurers and policyholders for either avoiding or maximizing coverage.
Ms. Douglas is a member of Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group, Counsel in the Firm’s St. Louis office. She practices complex civil litigation including federal class actions, products liability actions, insurance coverage matters and construction litigation. Ms. Douglas has experience in a variety of commercial, tort, products liability and insurance matters, where she has worked on various facets of litigation, including discovery, depositions, trials and appellate work. She rejoined Dentons in 2025 after serving as a partner at a national law firm, where she managed high-profile insurance coverage cases and led legal teams.
Mr. Santoro is a partner in Dentons’ Commercial Litigation practice, based in the firm’s New York office. His practice focuses on complex litigation and arbitration matters for some of the world’s leading insurance companies and businesses in the financial services, healthcare, aviation, manufacturing, and technology industries. Mr. Santoro has a reputation for innovative advocacy in complex insurance and reinsurance issues and negotiating favorable settlements for clients. He has a proven track record of success and partners closely with clients to achieve their goals. Mr. Santoro has worked in-house at one of the top five largest Lloyd’s of London Syndicates and offers solutions from the client’s perspective for their most troubling and complex issues. He has helped secure high-profile victories in federal and state courts, as well as national and international arbitrations. Mr. Santoro has extensive experience advising clients in connection with insurance coverage matters involving energy and power, property, construction, cyber, directors & officers, errors & omissions, construction defects, professional liability, aviation, general liability, and bad faith exposures.
Mr. Wilson is the founder and CEO of Insurance Commentary.com and the author of six books, including two insurance books, “When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes” and “20/20 Vision: Why Insurance Doesn’t Cover the COVID-19 Pandemic.” He retired from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America in December 2016 where he served as Assoc. VP of Education and Research for over 17 years and was the founder and director of the Big “I” Virtual University. Mr. Wilson is the former Director of Education & Technical Affairs for the Insurors of Tennessee and, prior to that time, he was employed by Insurance Services Office, Inc. He is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology with a B.S. degree in Fire Protection & Safety Engineering.
As with other policy exclusions, the government action exclusion is rife with ambiguities that courts across different jurisdictions have interpreted in unexpected and sometimes unanticipated ways. Originally intended to preclude coverage where the covered property had been damaged or taken by a government as a result of the insured's use of the property in criminal or illegal conduct, the exclusion has been extended in some cases to preclude coverage for innocent insureds indirectly related to some government action against another.
The government action exclusion is increasingly raised and litigated in the context of calamities like the California wildfires or Hurricane Helene, when governments take action to prevent riots and looting, or with respect to demolition or clean up.
Insurers are increasingly successful with arguments that coverage does not exist if a government's action, and in one case, the failure to act, can be connected, however remotely, to the damage claimed. While civil authority coverage might seem like a solution, it often leaves significant gaps. To complicate matters further, private equity is purchasing insurer subrogation rights for a fraction of what can be recovered from the primary tortfeasor.
Listen as our authoritative panel of practitioners discusses the scope of the government action exclusion, the most recent case law developments, and perspectives for both insurers and policyholders.
I. Introduction
II. Government action exclusion language
III. Direct vs. indirect government action
IV. Important and recent decisions
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- Must governmental actions be explicitly authorized?
- What is the cause of a "loss" if a covered peril renders a building unfit for use and a governmental order requires its demolition?
- Must the government action be directed at policyholder property?
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