The Northwest Policyholder
All Articles
Washington Supreme Court: Consumer Protection Act Applies Broadly, Federal Courts Wrong
In Peoples v. USAA, decided on November 27, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court held that insurance companies can be liable under Washington's Consumer Protection Act (RCW Ch. 19.86) if they violate Washington claims-handling regulations and wrongfull...
Continue Reading >
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...
Continue Reading >
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...
Continue Reading >
Insurance Policy Interpretation in Oregon—Lessons From New Cases
Jun 26, 2019
|
|
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 inter...
Continue Reading >
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...
Continue Reading >
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...
Continue Reading >
