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Insurance Coverage Issues in Sexual Abuse Claims: Defending Claims and Indemnifying Victims

A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (in 3 days)

1:00pm-2:30pm EDT, 10:00am-11:30am PDT

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE webinar will discuss finding insurance coverage for defending claims and indemnifying victims of sexual abuse and harassment. The panel will address the existence of coverage under general liability, employment practices, D&O, and other types of policies; insurer defenses; specific coverage issues that may arise; guidance for locating historic policy documents, and tips for accessing insurance proceeds.

Description

Insurance policy proceeds are often the only source of funding for defending allegations of sexual abuse and compensating victims, so both plaintiffs and defendants have a vested interest in finding all available coverage.

Businesses will frequently turn to their CGL, D&O or employment practices policies. In some instances, insurance companies will raise coverage defenses based on “expected or intended” harm or specific exclusions for sexual abuse. Often times, insurance companies attempt to avoid paying based on arguments that there is insufficient evidence of historic insurance policies from the years in which the abuse occurred.

Regardless of the situation, coverage turns on the specific facts of the incident, the policy language, and the exclusions of each policy. Where coverage may apply, counsel need to address issues such as evidence of “missing policies,” “expected or intended” harm, number of occurrences, allocation over multiple policies, what injuries are covered, and many more.

Listen as this experienced panel of insurance coverage attorneys discusses finding insurance coverage for defending claims and indemnifying victims of sexual abuse.

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Outline

  1. Rise in claims of harassment, abuse and molestation
  2. The delicate nature of these important claims
  3. Changes regarding statutes of limitations
  4. Type of policies where coverage may exist
  5. Insurance archaeology - best practices for locating missing policies or secondary evidence
  6. Potential for spoliation sanctions based on purging of insurance policy evidence
  7. Trigger of coverage across multiple policy years
  8. Allocation and damages spanning multiple policy years
  9. Expected and intended defense (severability of interest as to perpetrator and organization)
  10. Definition of bodily injury and whether it includes emotional distress
  11. Notifying and working with your insurance companies
  12. Insurance company claims handling tactics

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • The coverage available under CGL and other liability policies.
  • Finding “missing policies” and winning insurance company games of cat and mouse over searches for evidence in their files
  • Working well with your insurance company in defending and resolving abuse claims

Faculty

Artese, Dennis
Dennis J. Artese

Shareholder
Anderson Kill

Mr. Artese is a shareholder in the New York office of Anderson Kill. He is also co-chair of the firm's Construction...  |  Read More

Gilinsky, Marshall
Marshall Gilinsky

Shareholder
Anderson Kill

Mr. Gilinsky is an experienced commercial litigator who applies his complex analysis skills with extensive...  |  Read More

Lacey, John
John P. Lacey, Jr.

Attorney
Anderson Kill

Mr. Lacey is an attorney in Anderson Kill’s Newark office and a member of the firm’s Insurance...  |  Read More

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You may pre-order a recording to listen at your convenience. Recordings are available 48 hours after the webinar. Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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