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The landscape of insurance coverage in this era of the COVID-19 Pandemic is likely to change as insurance lawsuits are being filed to determine scope of insurance coverage. Meanwhile, in direct response to COVID-19, several states are attempting to modify Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance policies through legislation to provide coverage, particularly business interruption insurance, post hoc-after the fact. President Trump has commented that businesses have paid premiums for business interruption insurance for years and relief should be available to insureds. It is important for businesses to take precautionary measures to preserve whatever coverages might be available, especially as the case law and legislation changes to meet the COVID-19 pandemic.
As more than a billion people are under some sort of quarantine law and numerous US states and foreign countries have “shelter in place” laws now shuttering many businesses, COVID 19 has caused a financial crisis for many businesses.
Attorney Alex Sweis recently settled a high exposure cervical fusion claim for a high cost of defense, take it or leave it offer. The plaintiff in the case allegedly sustained cervical herniations at levels C3-C6.
Continue ReadingIn just eight weeks, McKenna Storer attorney Alex Sweis delivers an expedient settlement with optimal results for his insurance client.
In insurance coverage litigation, bad faith claims are somewhat common. Bad faith actions, under section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code, provide a remedy to insureds for an insurance company’s vexatious and unreasonable refusal to honor its contract with the insured.
One of the most important considerations in insurance coverage cases is determining whether an insurance company has a duty to defend and a duty to indemnify its insured. But how is this determination of insurance coverage made?
The Law Division of the Cook County Circuit Court rang in the New Year with a new HIPAA Qualified Protective Order (QPO) following Judge John Ehrlich’s memorandum opinion in Shull v. Ellis, No. 15 L 9759. The New HIPAA QPO requires a party claiming personal injury to consent to an explicit waiver for other parties, including insurance companies, to use that party’s private health information (PHI). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) does not apply to property and casualty insurance companies. However, the Cook County Law Division’s new HIPAA Qualified Protective Order will affect property and casualty insurance companies in the following ways:
When the holiday season rolls around, most people think of thanksgiving dinners, Christmas shopping and spending time with family and friends. As folks prepare for the holiday season, insurance defense counsel prepare for the increased potential for year-end insurance settlements. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants have incentives for settling cases before the beginning of the new year. Plaintiff’s would enjoy some extra shopping money for the holidays. From a tax perspective, money received in the current year is better than turning the tax calendar year over, since taxes are usually only going up. This is an incentive for individual plaintiffs and their attorneys to receive the settlement money and fees before the next tax year.
Insurance coverage for underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage laws are often times confusing. One source of such confusion is the determination of coverage owed when there are multiple tortfeasors. The recent case of Illinois Emcasco Ins. Co. v. Tufano, 2016 IL App (1st) 151196 provides guidance in this circumstance.
When it comes to insurance coverage litigation, a key tool used in coverage disputes is the declaratory judgment action. Once an insurance company determines that a declaratory judgment action must be filed to determine insurance coverage under its policy, there are certain parties that must be named as defendants for the complaint to survive dismissal.
