The U.S. District Court, Washington, decided the question of whether a settlement on behalf of the named insured still required the insurer to defend the additional insured. The Circuit Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, reviewed an exclusion in a liability policy and found the wording wanting. The court said that the exclusion was poorly worded and left uncertain whether the exclusion applied to the claim. In the Alaska Supreme Court case, the issue was whether pleading no-contest in an assault claim allowed the insured to receive coverage under his homeowners policy for the claim made against him. The insured punched the claimant and was charged with assault. He pleaded no-contest, was convicted for disorderly conduct, and when he was sued, the insured claimed his no-contest plea could not be used by the insurer to deny coverage based on an intentional act. The last case is from the U.S. Circuit Court, Eighth Circuit, and dealt with whether negligent misrepresentation was the cause of property damage to a house that the insured sold and how that misrepresentation affected coverage under the homeowners policy.

Questions and Answers

When an insured with a business retires, what happens to the business property? See Business Property When the Insured Retires. How are contents covered when the insureds are common law married? See Contents Coverage and Common Law Marriage.

Do extenuating circumstances give the insured more time to report a loss? See Extenuating Situation When Reporting a Loss. When an insured commits suicide by gunshot, how is the cleanup handled? See Suicide by Gunshot. Is there coverage from the tenant's policy when the tenant dies on premises? See Tenants Policy Coverage When Tenant Dies on the Property.

Businessowners Program

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) businessowners program is a package policy offering property and liability coverage for certain groups of commercial insureds. The program may be used to insure a variety of business enterprises. It is directed towards “main street” commercial insureds. ISO updated the Businessowners policy and program, which carries a July 2013 effective date. The article reflects those changes. See Businessowners Program.

Entertainers Insurance

There are many policies that provide coverage for specialty lines of business. Entertainers insurance is one of those areas. Jugglers, hypnotists, magicians, and others need coverage specific to their needs and exposures. This article discusses some of those available coverages. See Entertainers Insurance.