Category Archives: Insurance Coverage

Insurers Face Delicate COVID-19 Coverage Decisions

Posted by Ashton T. Kirsch, Sarah "Sally" Fry Bruch on April 22, 2020

Insurance companies are no dummies. The world’s largest insurance companies learned important lessons following previous worldwide health crises. Since the 2003 SARS pandemic, they have tightened up their policies and carefully crafted policy language excluding communicable diseases. They have anticipated … Learn More

Wisconsin Supreme Court Clarifies Event Triggering Notice-of-Claim Requirement In UIM Policy

Posted by Douglas W. Lehrer on June 27, 2018

On April 5, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the operative event which triggers a notice of claim requirement in an underinsured motorist (UIM) policy is the tender of the tortfeasor’s underlying policy limit and not the accident itself. … Learn More

Employer Business Auto Policy Coverage Of Employee Personal Vehicles

Posted by Ryan L. Woody on June 26, 2018

Who covers what when an employee is involved in an accident while driving a personal vehicle for business purposes? It is a question as old as insurance itself. It should come as no surprise that the Holy Grail for trial … Learn More

Iowa Legislature Responds To Call For Reform Of Workers’ Compensation Act

Posted by Ashton T. Kirsch on September 14, 2017

The Iowa legislature has finally acted on the call by Iowa business groups to overhaul Iowa’s workers’ compensation system. For years, they have claimed that the state’s system has tilted unfairly toward injured workers and significantly raised employers’ costs. Many … Learn More

Don’t Build With “Synthetic Stucco” – If You Want Insurance Coverage

Posted on August 10, 2017

Recently, in Kaitlin Woods Condominium Ass’n v. Kaitlin Woods, LLC, et al., 2017 WL 3234370 (Wis. 2017), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld a “synthetic stucco” (also known as Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS)) exclusion in a commercial general … Learn More

Wisconsin Court Of Appeals Reminds Insurance Carriers To Seek Judicial Determination Of No Coverage Before Denying Tender Of Defense

Posted by Douglas W. Lehrer on June 13, 2017

On May 2, 2017, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals outlined why an insurance carrier that fails to defend an insured without first seeking a judicial determination of no coverage does so at its own peril. See Country World Media Group, … Learn More

The Wisconsin Supreme Court Weighs In Again On Liability Waivers

Posted by Richard A. Schuster on October 25, 2016

Back in September 2013, we posted an article entitled “Do Liability Waivers Really Work?” The article served as a primer and cautionary tale regarding the enforceability of common liability waivers. These are the agreements required by gyms, martial arts facilities, … Learn More

Wisconsin’s Duty To Defend And The “Four-Corners” Rule

Posted by Douglas W. Lehrer on October 18, 2016

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has recently had occasion to clarify the issue of whether extrinsic evidence can be considered in determining an insurer’s duty to defend in the case of Water Well Solutions Serv., Inc. v. Consolidated Ins. Co., 2016 … Learn More

DePuy And Johnson & Johnson Hit With $502 Million Verdict In Pinnacle Hip Lawsuit

Posted on March 29, 2016

The recent consolidated bellwether trial of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant multi-district litigation concluded on Thursday, March 17, 2016, with a whopping $502 million verdict against defendants DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. Following months of trial in the … Learn More

Court Holds That Personal Injury Attorney Is Not Exempt From Having To Pay Medical Record Retrieval Or Certification Fees Assessed Pursuant To Wisconsin Statutes

Posted by Bradley W. Matthiesen on March 14, 2016

In Moya v. Aurora Healthcare, Inc. and HealthPort Technologies, LLC, Appeal No. 2014AP2236, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decided a case involving the construction and interpretation of Wis. Stats. §§ 146.81-146.83 to determine whether personal injury attorneys are exempt from the … Learn More