Insurance CLE

Suing an insurance company involves nothing more than a contract case but, then again, is it? There is so much more to know about insurance recovery litigation. How do you understand the issues you need to spot in order to evaluate one of these cases? What do you do when a client walks in with an insurance recovery problem? What are some of the unique problems that arise when your client needs to sue an insurance company, or an insurance company sues your client? In this program, we lay all of this out for you and in a simple and understandable way.

This course is designed to review the two primary methods for shifting risk between the parties to a construction contract. Those methods are indemnification provisions and insurance. This course will discuss the various forms of indemnification and the scope. Insurance will be addressed as it relates to indemnification and as a stand-alone protection. This course will include suggestions to be included in both the substantive and procedural aspects of an indemnification. For example, whether the indemnification applies to the fault of one party or all parties related to the project. There will also be a discussion on how to avoid conflicts with the enforcement of the indemnification provision. The effects of various statutory provisions that relate to permitted indemnifications will be reviewed. The program also covers the duty to defend, and scope of that duty. The course is designed to alert an attendee of the various contractual issues that arise with indemnification provisions and various insurance products, and the relationship between indemnification and insurance in order to draft construction contracts that better protects the client. Pertinent case law will also be reviewed.

Weather is becoming more erratic and insurance policies are becoming more complicated. Policyholders are often confused about coverage and whether the insurance company is correct. Many are turning to attorneys for answers. This course aims to give attorneys an overview of a homeowners policy. We will break down and explain the policy and help you decide whether the insurance company is following its terms.

Business interruption insurance is intended to protect a business against loss. Does it protect a business against COVID-19? In this course we will explore the legal arguments that can be made by both policyholders and insurance companies in this billion dollar question. Take a crash course in business interruption insurance and litigation, with a special focus on COVID-19!

This course, presented by Jennifer L. Hess, an attorney and lecturer on long term disability law topics, provides an overview of long term disability insurance policies subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). This is an introductory course is designed to benefit any attorney who is currently handling long term disability matters or interested in handling these matters. In two parts, this course: (I) reviews the basics of ERISA law; and (II) discusses the 9 fundamental policy terms critical to long term disability claims. In doing so, this course will cover the rights and protections that ERISA offers to claimants, provide useful practice tips, and share strategies to maximize a claimant’s disability benefit income under the policy.

This course will provide an overview of the insurance coverage provided by Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies. This overview will include a summary of an insurer’s duties to defend and indemnify its policyholder for losses covered by the policy. The presentation will then provide an in-depth analysis of the 2013 Target data breach and ensuing insurance-coverage decision. Finally, the course will conclude with a discussion of the impact the Target decision will have on other policyholders with CGL policies.

Insurance touches every facet of our businesses and private lives. When insurance coverage litigation ensues, the dispute often stems from what particular provisions mean, whether policy terms are ambiguous, and whether information outside the four corners of the policy can be introduced to reconcile the meaning/intent of policy language. In this insurance law seminar, we will cover key issues regarding when extrinsic evidence may be used to establish that a particular policy provision is ambiguous and under what circumstances courts allow extrinsic evidence to resolve an ambiguity. This presentation will benefit insurance litigators, as well as general counsel, in-house counsel, risk managers, claims professionals and any other individuals who are involved in insurance policy interpretation and coverage disputes.

New York’s recently enacted Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (“RPAPL”) § 1302-a effectively eliminates waiver of the standing defense in a home loan foreclosure action. This exposes foreclosing lenders to assaults on their foreclosure actions for elusive durations and raises questions as to the marketability and insurability of titles devolving through foreclosures. This course will cover how foreclosures are affected by RPAPL and similar statutes in other states.

The most probative piece of evidence a long term disability insurance company will present in a lawsuit regarding disability benefits is the report of the company’s doctor. This course will outline strategies to limit the weight given to such a report or to get the report thrown out entirely. We will cover attacks on the credibility of the insurance. company doctor, attacks on the opinion itself, and attacks on the methods used to arrive at those opinions.

Property owners and general contractors face an extremely high burden with respect to safety issues at construction sites with high elevation. Nothing better exemplifies this than the requirements of Labor Law Section 240, traditionally known as the “scaffold law” in New York. This statute is intended to protect workers against the dangers inherent in working at elevations, and with materials or equipment at different heights. This course will review the requirements of the statute and what entities are subject to its mandates. Also discussed will be how the requirements of the statute are implemented in the field, as well as the defenses that are traditionally raised when a worker is injured due to a claimed violation. Real life examples will be utilized to illustrate the principles.

The nature of construction sites frequently results in hazardous and dangerous conditions for the workers. In an effort to protect them, several state statutes govern site conditions and instill requirements for safe operations relative to the performance of the work. In New York, among these are Labor Law Sections 200 and 241(6), which cover virtually every conceivable type of activity that occurs in connection with construction projects. This course will review the requirements of these statutes and what entities are subject to their mandates. Also discussed will be how the requirements of these laws are implemented in the field, including their interplay with the industrial code, and the defenses that are traditionally raised when a worker is injured due to claimed violations. Real life examples will be utilized to illustrate the principles and explain how the case law interprets the same.

This course will examine the nuts and bolts of a successful tender. Whether your client is tendering to another entity and/or carrier or whether your client has been tendered to, this course will walk you through the process. This course also examines contractual indemnity provisions commonly found in many contracts and the impact said provisions may have on the tender.

This course will examine additional insured coverage under liability policies. The course examines when to tender, how to tender, and what to rely upon when tendering to an insurance carrier. This course also examines common language found in general liability policies and frequently used additional insured endorsements. The course also examined what happens when there are multiple policies that insure the same entity.