If someone else’s negligence causes you to be injured in an accident, such as a traffic accident, a slip and fall accident, or any other kind of dangerous accident, you’ll look to the at-fault party’s insurance provider to compensate you for the losses you experience. While it is good to…
Dual Agency Independent agents or brokers are often considered the agent of the insured. However, Georgia law recognizes the concept of dual agency, where an agent acts on behalf of both the insured and the insurer. Dual agency is not considered void per se as against public policy in Georgia.…
Non-Covered Claims, Counterclaims and Third-Party Actions In some cases, defense counsel may become aware that the insured has a potential counterclaim against another party in the lawsuit or a third-party claim that may be barred if not asserted in the pending action. Insurance policies do not necessarily provide coverage for…
Providing a defense when the insurer reserves its rights The most common problem that arises in the “tripartite relationship” occurs when the carrier undertakes the defense of the insured pursuant to a reservation of rights. In such cases, it is possible for an insurer to take less interest in paying…
No Action Clause Many policies contain a provision limiting the amount of time in which an insured can bring suit against its insurer, effectively reducing the statute of limitations by way of contractual agreement. Such a contractual limitation or “no-action” clause provides that any suit against the insurer arising out…
Duty To Defend Multiple Insureds Where there are multiple insureds under a single policy, each insured is entitled to a separate defense. An insurer owes a duty of good faith and fair dealing to each insured. An additional insured, however, may have to elect coverage under the policy by notifying…
Duty To Defend And Exhaustion Of Policy Limits Generally, an insurer does not have a continued duty to defend its insured after the insurer has exhausted policy limits by settling multiple claims with the insured’s consent, even though there might be additional claims arising from the same accident. In Liberty…
Whether reasonableness of late notice can be decided as a matter of law, or whether it should remain in the province of the jury depends on two factors: the sufficiency of the excuse insured’s diligence after any disability has been removed OneBeacon Am. Ins. Co. v. Catholic Diocese of Savannah…