The Northwest Policyholder
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Washington Federal Court Confirms That EPA General Notice Letters Trigger the Duty to Defend
The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington recently held that several insurers breached their insurance contracts when they refused to defend their insureds against letters from the EPA and the Washington State Department...
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"Contractors Special Conditions" Endorsement Sets Traps for Policyholders and Defense Counsel
An endorsement that has become common in general contractors' insurance policies can function as a trap for both the policyholder and defense counsel. The "Contractors Special Conditions" endorsement requires that the policyholder must have written c...
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In Extraordinary Ruling, Washington Supreme Court Applies “Efficient Proximate Cause” Rule to Liability Coverage Dispute
On April 27, the Washington Supreme Court created a significant new wrinkle in how courts will approach liability insurance disputes involving policy exclusions. In Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Co. RRG, the Court applied the “efficient prox...
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Guest Feature: Apartment Owners' Liability for Loss of Renters' Personal Data [VIDEO]
In case you missed this last week, our friends at HFO Investment Real Estate have published an excellent video (posted here with permission) featuring an extensive interview with Vice Presidents Heidi Tapasa and Ted Stark of USI Insura...
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New Ruling May Require Tailoring Cyber-Ransom Coverage
Cyber-ransom is the talk of the town when it comes to insurance these days, second only to social engineering fraud. A cyber-ransom event typically involves malicious code (malware) being installed on an individual computer or a system, typicall...
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If You Purchase Contaminated Property, Is It Covered?
Can a policyholder that knowingly purchases contaminated property be covered for the costs of cleaning up that property under policies of insurance issued before the purchase? Yes, according to a new unpublished decision from the Washington Court o...
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