Insurance Coverage
Insurance coverage counseling and litigation services are most successful when they work together. As experienced litigators, we are familiar with the methods used by insurance companies in paying claims, and how insurance companies interpret their policies. We apply these insights when analyzing and negotiating terms and contracts that not only help contain risks, but also minimize the likelihood of future litigation. When litigation with a policyholder or company is necessary, we use our extensive trial experience to obtain the best relief possible.
We provide experienced counsel in virtually every area of insurance coverage, including:
- Commercial crime and fidelity bonds
- Commercial general liability
- Cyberliability, media and E-commerce liability
- Directors and officers liability (D&O)
- Employee benefits and fiduciary liability
- Employee crime/fraud
- Employment practices liability
- Environmental liability
- First-party property/casualty and business interruption
- Nonprofit organization liability
- Private equity and venture capital liability
- Product liability and recall
- Professional liability, including errors and omissions (E&O) and malpractice
- Terrorism
Our attorneys have achieved great proficiencies and outstanding results for both policyholders and insurers in these various practice areas.
Insurance coverage is not a one-time event. Circumstances change, policies are modified, costs vary, fortunes ebb and flow and unexpected events inevitably occur. The insurance industry has developed a broad range of policies and plans to help minimize potential threats to companies and their customers. Likewise, when insurers make changes to — or refuse to honor — these policies, the very security that they were intended to provide can be put in jeopardy. We know the law that applies to trigger coverage and allocation of defense and indemnity.
In addition, many significant events (such as acquisitions, changes in corporate structure or control, and restatements of corporate filings) may have significant consequences for insurance coverage. Our goal is to help clients address known issues and risks, while positioning them to respond more effectively to unforeseen developments.
We work closely with businesses and individuals to gain a thorough understanding of their goals and needs and then develop strategies that enable clients to align insurance coverage options with their risk profile and risk management objectives. A sampling of the services include:
- Evaluating types of coverage, policies and plans that are new to the marketplace
- Coordinating insurance and other critical company documents, such as bylaws, loan covenants, and indemnification provisions of contracts and licenses
- Identifying insurance assets responsive to emerging liabilities and providing assistance in developing insurance claim notification protocols and presenting claims for coverage
- Negotiating indemnification of officers and directors
- Negotiating payment of defense expenses
- Counseling on corporate governance, including insurance-related aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Exploring alternative risk transfer mechanisms, including captives and risk retention groups
For more information about our Insurance Coverage Practice, please contact:
Charles R. Franklin
312.582.1603
