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Insurance Defense

Lewis Johs has been providing legal advice and representation to major insurance carriers across the United States for decades. Our attorneys have extensive experience in all aspects of insurance coverage analysis and litigation. We serve as coverage counsel to many insurers and provide detailed analysis on insurance obligations under all types of insurance policies including homeowners policies, personal and commercial automobile policies, personal umbrella policies, general liability policies, excess policies and professional liability policies.

We also provide analysis on claim handling practices and procedures in connection with preventing extra contractual exposure. Additionally, Lewis Johs’s attorneys represent insurance carriers in insurance coverage litigation in state and federal courts, as well as in appellate courts, in cases varying from the routine to the more complex. We often represent insurers in declaratory judgment actions, both as plaintiffs and as defendants.

Some of the issues we routinely address are as follows:

  • Coverage for first party property damage claims including those claims arising from Superstorm Sandy under homeowners policies
  • Coverage for third-party claims under homeowners policies, personal and commercial automobile policies, personal umbrella policies and general liability policies
  • Additional insured coverage under commercial liability policies
  • Contractual indemnification agreements and obligations arising therefrom
  • Bad faith and potential extra contractual liability exposure
  • Professional liability claims including medical malpractice and directors and officers liability
  • Environmental liability claims
  • Priority of coverage issues among different policies
  • Timeliness of denials and disclaimers of coverage
  • Applicability of policy exclusions
  • Analysis of coverage under insuring agreement
  • Late notice of claim
  • Coverage implications arising from death of the insured
  • Coverage issues under co-op and/or condominium policies
  • Coverage for breach of fiduciary duties
  • Coverage for insurance agents and brokers
  • Gap in coverage between underlying and excess or umbrella policies
  • Misrepresentations in applications for insurance coverage
  • Policy rescission issues

We assist in the early identification of exposure and draw on our substantive legal experience as well as our experience in the industry and working with adversary counsel to reach resolutions that are satisfactory to both the insurers and the insureds. We proactively determine the most effective and efficient way to minimize any exposure. However, when appropriate, our attorneys are ready to litigate and/or arbitrate coverage issues. Lewis Johs attorneys frequently lecture and author articles on insurance coverage issues.

For a complimentary consultation, please contact Karen Berberich () at (631) 755.0101 or (646) 498-7827.