Also known as: insurance companies · insurer · insurance carrier
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A corporation or association that issues insurance policies and assumes specified risks in exchange for premiums.
After a car accident, plaintiff Imran Iyer sued the at-fault driver. During discovery Iyer sought notes prepared by Integrity Partners, the driver's liability insurer, while investigating the claim. The court denied the request because the materials were prepared in anticipation of litigation and Iyer failed to show substantial need.
Isabelle Inman, a State A resident, sued Infinity Bank, the liability insurer of a State A university, without joining the university. Because the suit was a direct action against the insurer, the court treated Infinity Bank as a citizen of State A and dismissed the case for lack of complete diversity.
Isaac Irving contracted to sell land to India Inoue. The contract required only insurable title. At closing a reputable title insurance company agreed to issue a policy at standard rates despite a minor unreleased lien, so the sale proceeded even though the title might not have been fully marketable.
A law firm represented both spouses and their insurer, Interlink Communications, in an uninsured-motorist claim. When the wife later sued the husband, the firm was disqualified because the insurer's interests became directly adverse and prior confidential information could not be screened.
Imani Idowu purchased property and paid a premium to Iris Energy, a title insurance company. After closing Iris Energy discovered an undisclosed easement. The policy indemnified Imani for the resulting loss because the defect was not listed as an exception.
State Farm refused to settle a claim within policy limits, exposing its insured to a large verdict. The jury awarded substantial punitive damages against State Farm. The Supreme Court later reviewed whether the award was excessive under due-process standards.
In 1981, Curtis Campbell was driving with his wife Inez in Cache County, Utah, when he attempted to pass six vans on a two-lane highway. This caused an oncoming driver, Todd Ospital, to swerve onto the shoulder, lose control, and collide with a vehicle driven by Robert G. Slawson and his wife, killing Ospital and permanently disabling Slawson. Campbell's insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, declined settlement offers of the $50,000 policy limit from Slawson and Ospital's estate despite early investigations indicating Campbell's fault and advice from its own adjuster. A jury in the underlying tort actions found Campbell 100 percent at fault and returned a judgment of $185,849 against him. State Farm refused to pay the $135,849 excess over policy limits or post a supersedeas bond. The Campbells then entered an agreement with Slawson and Ospital's estate under which the claimants would not seek satisfaction of the judgment in exchange for the Campbells pursuing a bad-faith action against State Farm, being represented by the claimants' attorneys, and assigning 90 percent of any recovery to them. The Campbells sued State Farm for bad faith, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The trial court bifurcated the case into two phases before separate juries. In phase one the jury found State Farm's refusal to settle unreasonable. In phase two the jury heard evidence that State Farm's decision was part of a nationwide Performance, Planning and Review policy implemented since 1979 to cap payouts and meet corporate profit goals, including testimony from former Utah employees and experts about practices in multiple states over twenty years. The jury awarded $2.6 million in compensatory damages and $145 million in punitive damages. The trial court reduced the compensatory award to $1 million and the punitive award to $25 million. Both sides appealed. The Utah Supreme Court reinstated the $145 million punitive damages award after applying the three guideposts from BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore and relying on the nationwide evidence, State Farm's wealth, and the statistical likelihood of punishment in only one of 50,000 cases. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
View caseDocuments prepared by an insurer in anticipation of litigation are ordinarily protected from discovery. A party seeking them must show substantial need and undue hardship in obtaining equivalent materials by other means.
In a direct action against a liability insurer where the insured is not joined as a defendant, the insurer is deemed a citizen of every state of which the insured is a citizen in addition to its own states of incorporation and principal place of business.
Marketable title is free from reasonable doubt that a prudent purchaser would accept. Insurable title is a lesser standard satisfied when a reputable title insurance company will insure the title at standard rates.
A title insurance policy indemnifies the insured only against loss from defects or liens not excepted in the policy. Coverage is defined by the policy language and applicable state law.
…mechanism or workmanship or assembly were defective or improper prior to the accident. The condition was such that the collision insurance carrier, after inspection, declared the vehicle a total loss. It had 468 miles on the speedometer at the time. The insurance carrier’s inspector and appraiser of damaged cars, with 11 years of…