The Northwest Policyholder
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Interpreting Insurance Exclusions for Flood and Surface Water Damage Caused by Human Activity in Oregon
Stormwater overflows and similar accidents are a frequent source of damage in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest generally. Insurers often deny coverage for resulting damage under the "surface and flood" waters exclusion. A recent case out of the U.S....
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Insurer Invokes "Act of War" Exclusion in Cyber Policy, Risking Growth for Coverage
The cyber-insurance world is discussing the ins-and-outs of litigation going on between food manufacturing giant Mondelez International and Zurich over coverage for the ten billion dollar NotPetya cyber attack that crippled several multi-national com...
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SB 728: A Commonsense Adjustment to Oregon Insurance Law
Once again Oregon legislatures are looking at removing the exemption of insurance companies from the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices Act. SB 728 makes violations of Oregon’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (the “UCSPA”) an unlawful trade practic...
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Insurance Policy Interpretation in Oregon—Lessons From New Cases
Insurance policies are famously obscure, full of non-sequiturs and jargon. Coverage disputes often feature disagreements about the meaning of policy wording. As a result, courts have developed a process for interpreting policies. In Oregon, the int...
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Policyholders Must Be “Made Whole” Before Insurers Recover Payments From Third Parties
The Washington Supreme Court recently issued a decision strongly reiterating the “made whole” doctrine under Washington law, which provides that an insurer cannot exercise its right of reimbursement from a third party who injured its insured, until...
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Insurance and Cannabis—Requirements, Exclusions, Positive News
Cannabis businesses don’t have many options when it comes to insurance, because major insurance players are staying out of the market until cannabis is reclassified under federal law. However, cannabis licensees are required to carry insurance by sta...
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