We are pleased to announce that Brent Cooper will be speaking in an upcoming Strafford live webinar, "Policyholder's Duty to Cooperate: Advocating or Defending Against Loss of Coverage for Breach" scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, 1:00pm-2:30pm EDT.
The duty to cooperate clause imposes certain obligations on the insured to assist the insurer in investigating and defending third-party claims. For first-party claims, the insured has an obligation to provide relevant information or documents to the insurer. Breach of the duty may result in loss of coverage.
In order to disclaim coverage because of the insured’s breach of the duty to cooperate, the insurer must demonstrate that the insurer was actually prejudiced by the insured’s failure to cooperate. Distinctions are made for an insured’s passive non-responsiveness versus its active collusion with a third-party claimant.
A critical issue that arises in the context of the scope of the insured’s duty is the disclosure of privileged or confidential information by the insured. The duty to cooperate clause also impacts the insured’s ability to settle third-party claims directly with the claimant.
The panel will discuss the scope of the insured's duty to cooperate, the circumstances under which an insurer can disclaim coverage by alleging the insured breached that duty, the insurer’s burden of proof, and other issues that arise in this context such as atty-client privilege and claim settlement.
We will offer our perspectives and guidance on these and other critical questions:
• What is the insurer’s burden of proof for disclaiming liability due to the insured’s failure to cooperate?
• Under what circumstances might an insured be justified in refusing to cooperate with the insurer?
• Does a defense under reservation of rights change the scope of the insured’s duty to cooperate?
• How does the duty to cooperate impact the insured’s right to settle the claim?
• Are there circumstances under which the insurer will be estopped from raising the insured’s breach of the duty?
After the presentations, you can engage in a live question and answer session with the speakers so they can answer your questions about these important issues directly.
For more information:
Call 1-800-926-7926 ext. 10
Ask for Insured's Duty to Cooperate on 4/23/2014
Mention code: ZDFCT