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Duty to defend: ‘Four corners’ or ‘four corners, but…’?

The duty to defend should be found inside the four corners of the policy, but some courts are expanding the test beyond the basic documents.

By Randy J. Maniloff | Updated on November 02, 2016
Although the general rule on determining whether there is a duty to defend looks to the "four corners of the document" some courts are going beyond policies and considering additional information.

The determination of whether an insurer has a duty to defend is the most important of all coverage issues, which shouldn’t be surprising.

The question arises in just about every liability claim — regardless of policy type. No other issue can make that claim. And the consequences for an insurer that breaches its defense obligation are, at best, significant and, at worst, monumental.

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