Key Takeaways Standard general liability policies may still provide coverage for some AI-related claims. New ISO generative AI exclusions suggest insurers view existing policies as potentially covering AI-related liabilities. The scope of AI exclusions may depend in part on how courts apply phrases like “arising out of.” Policyholders should carefully… READ MORE
Although not common, emergency remedies should be part of an insurance litigator’s toolkit. In certain circumstances, they can be a powerful way to cut through otherwise burdensome litigation, especially to determine an insurer’s duty to defend, which often can be resolved as a preliminary matter and before discovery. … READ MORE
Few coverage issues have received more attention than the interpretation of various iterations of the pollution exclusion to a general liability policy. In Griffin Foods International, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., 2026 IL 131710, the Illinois Supreme Court addressed whether a substance is a “pollutant”… READ MORE
Ohio Security Insurance Co. v. Smith, 2025 WL 2912972 (D. Or. Oct. 10, 2025), speaks to the breadth of exclusions containing “arising out of” language. As alleged in the complaint, Mary and Randall Leach owned an industrial warehouse in White City, Oregon. They leased the property to Joseph Donahue and… READ MORE
Federated Mutual Insurance Co. v. Peterson’s Oil Service, Inc., 2025 WL 2588866 (1st Cir. Sept. 5, 2025), presents an interesting application of prior knowledge limitations in a complex, mass-tort scenario. The coverage dispute arose from a class action in Massachusetts state court. A class of Peterson’s customers alleged that, since… READ MORE
Parens patriae suits by government entities for “public harm” present a host of coverage issues under general liability insurance policies. Who, if anyone, has suffered bodily injury or property damage? Is anyone seeking damages because of such injury, as the policy requires? Do they seek damages at all, where the… READ MORE
In a closely watched decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a sprawling, 119-page decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico holding that the so-called “absolute” pollution exclusion was fatally ambiguous. Chisolm’s-Vill. Plaza, LLC v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 2025 WL 1178099… READ MORE
In Boston Gas Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., 454 Mass. 337 (2009), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) rejected the position adopted by some jurisdictions that, where bodily injury or property damage occurs during several consecutive policy periods or continues into uninsured periods, any insurer on the risk is liable… READ MORE
For years the insurance bar has debated whether “PFAS”—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—will be the “next asbestos.” It might be too early to know the answer to that question, but PFAS cases are raising many of the same issues as other mass torts, including the application of the pollution exclusion. PFAS’s… READ MORE
Will There Be Insurance Coverage for Tuition Refund And Other COVID-19 Related Claims?… READ MORE