We have a question concerning the insurer's duty to defend. Some of our staff members say that if an insurer tenders the policy limits for a claim, the duty to defend ends because the limit of liability on the policy has been exhausted. Others say that is not necessarily so and that an insurer can not just pay the policy limits and walk away, leaving the insured to fend for himself as to the defense against a claim. Do you have an opinion on this subject?

Massachusetts Subscriber

Perhaps the best way to discuss this question is to read the wording of the duty to defend clause as it appears in some coverage forms.