Is there any phrase more likely to strike terror into the hearts of insurance executives than "bad faith"? For an insurance carrier, the accusation that it has not been dealing with its policyholder fairly often leads to lawsuits. And often, among the allegations made in those lawsuits are claims that the carrier is intentionally or maliciously refusing to honor its obligations to provide coverage under the insurance contract at issue. The allegations of bad faith arise out of a variety of cases. Some originate in auto accidents, others in workers' compensation claims, still others in large commercial cases. Often, the cases take years to be resolved. Another concern for most insurers is that many bad faith lawsuits are decided by juries, who often envision themselves in the position of the policyholder. If the carrier could treat the plaintiff "unfairly," jurors think, they could be treated the same way when they have a claim. And so they tend to award plaintiffs millions of dollars. Here is a look at the 10 largest bad faith verdicts in property & casualty cases of the last five years as tracked by the editors of our sister publication, VerdictSearch. Read more: |
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Rosalie Donlon
Rosalie Donlon is the editor in chief of ALM's insurance and tax publications, including NU Property & Casualty magazine and NU PropertyCasualty360.com. You can contact her at [email protected].
