Insurance is about risk transfer and risk management. As technology rapidly advances or catastrophic events occur, even the most sophisticated insurers find themselves mired in coverage and bad faith litigation. This litigation can present a substantial threat to the financial stability of a company. With more than 40 years of experience representing insurers in their most complex litigation, Cozen O’Connor’s global insurance litigators are well positioned to protect insurers when they face litigation in the United States, Canada, or Great Britain.
We represent leading insurance and reinsurance companies in coverage and bad faith litigation involving many different lines of insurance products, including professional liability, financial lines, directors and officers liability, commercial property, builders risk, life and health, cyber risks, environmental, energy, food contamination, surety, policyholder bankruptcy, and financial guaranty. Our attorneys regularly serve as lead trial counsel or national coordinating counsel on behalf of major insurers and reinsurers before state and federal courts, and arbitration panels.
The firm’s attorneys have an in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry, which enables us to develop persuasive trial themes in the most complex coverage and bad faith litigation. With more than 100 dedicated insurance litigators, we have attorneys operating in dozens of critical subfields who can respond to litigation anywhere in the country. As soon as a dispute arises, our lawyers work closely with clients to efficiently identify the most effective litigation strategy available, whether it is a jury trial, dispositive motion practice, or alternative dispute resolution.
Often, of course, the goal is to resolve a claim before it goes to trial. Our courtroom experience gives us an enormous strategic advantage when trying to resolve litigation early. Our attorneys are skilled at evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a given case and candidly advising clients of the likely litigation outcome if a matter does proceed to trial. Our reputation as top trial attorneys creates an incentive for adversaries to reach mutually agreeable settlements before facing us in court.
In those instances when a coverage matter must be tried, we are prepared. Cozen O’Connor attorneys have litigated a wide variety of high-value insurance cases, including successfully defending insurers with liabilities from asbestos, Hurricane Katrina, and the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. We have also served as national coordinating counsel in numerous landmark coverage cases, such as in connection with the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Our coverage counsel are known for their ability to successfully manage the largest and most complex insurance matters in the world.
The Cozen O’Connor team is rare in that our attorneys combine intellectual prowess with practicality. We do not waste time pondering intangibles. We provide targeted, useful advice that helps clients achieve their goals.
SERVICES
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Advertising Injury. Claims for advertising and personal injury coverage are becoming more common in today’s contentious business environment. We analyze these claims and defend insurers’ policies when policyholders are engaged in litigation involving antitrust violations, unfair competition, price discrimination, copyright infringement, trade secrets, and other claims.
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Arson & Fraud. Cozen O’Connor was the first firm to litigate potentially fraudulent insurance claims on a nationwide basis. Our group includes former prosecutors with deep investigative experience and a thorough knowledge of fraud statutes, arson-reporting immunity acts, and unfair claims practices acts.
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Bad Faith & Extracontractual Claims. Cozen O’Connor is a national leader in the bad faith defense field. When our insurance clients are accused of unfair claims handling or committing other forms of extracontractual misconduct, we are able to efficiently evaluate the exposure and, when necessary, assemble a team of experts to formulate a winning trial strategy. We act as national coordinating counsel on extracontractual claims for insurers looking to promote consistency and efficiency with regard to the handling of these claims.
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Cyber & Technology. Cyber activities and technology present insurers and policyholders with unique liabilities. We provide sophisticated risk management services and defend clients in cases involving breach of privacy/confidence/security, denial of service, content liability, transmission of viruses, theft of confidential data, unfair competition, antitrust, advertising and intellectual property.
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Environmental/Energy/Climate Change. The insurance industry is singularly vulnerable to environmental and climate change claims now and in the future, and Cozen O’Connor is ideally situated to litigate and advise insurers on these matters. We serve the insurance industry in the areas of environmental, energy, asbestos, mold, and climate change.
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Excess & Surplus. Due to the level of risk and degree of specialization built in to every contract, excess and surplus line insurers face qualitatively different issues than do primary insurers. Our attorneys have years of experience working with excess and surplus insurers to manage potentially catastrophic risks and to defend these insurers when sued.
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Financial Guaranty. We work closely with insurers and reinsurers to make certain that lending risk is appropriately allocated and to achieve mutually agreeable solutions in the event of a coverage dispute.
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Food Contamination & Recall. We defend food and beverage insurers in first- and third-party coverage cases resulting from food contamination and product recalls. In the event of a food contamination or recall, our attorneys help insurers respond appropriately and have authored numerous publications on insurer responsibilities in a contamination scenario.
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Life, Health & Disability. Life, health, and disability claims are on the rise. Cozen O’Connor helps insurers respond not only to common contractual coverage issues, but also to the inevitable extracontractual, regulatory, statutory, and business issues that arise as well.
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Long Tail/Toxic/Asbestos. We provide comprehensive services to insurers facing toxic tort and other long-tail claims, including national coverage and bad faith counsel; coverage trial counsel; coverage and underlying claims analysis; national monitoring; and legal and media strategy. We have successfully represented insurers in disputes involving asbestos, cell phones, lead paint, and mold.
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Ocean Marine/Inland Marine. Global trade today involves all modes of transportation, including ship, truck, train, and plane. Cozen O’Connor attorneys are well versed in ocean and inland marine insurance contracts as well as international transportation and logistics law. We represent insurers in cargo claims, collisions, fire, and personal injury coverage disputes.
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Policyholder Bankruptcy. The relationship between insured and insurer changes dramatically in the event of a policyholder bankruptcy, particularly when a filing is driven by mass tort liabilities. Our attorneys provide a sophisticated understanding of bankruptcy law, traditional coverage law, and the unique interplay between the two.
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Professional Liability Coverage. When professionals, directors and officers, or companies face claims under their professional liability or directors’ & officers’ insurance policies, Cozen O’Connor’s lawyers work with claim teams to analyze coverage issues, identify potential liability and damages, and devise a successful litigation strategy.
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Property Insurance. Policyholders turn to property insurers to seek coverage for business interruption and other economic losses as well as for traditional damage to physical property. Having defended numerous high-profile coverage cases, including those related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Cozen O’Connor is exceptionally well equipped to handle complex property insurance claims.
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Reinsurance. Cozen O’Connor’s reinsurance practice advises clients on the unique issues involving ceded and assumed reinsurance. We handle regulatory, transactional, insolvency, and adversarial reinsurance matters.
CLIENTS
We represent leading insurance and reinsurance companies in coverage and bad faith litigation involving many different lines of insurance products, including:
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Professional liability
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Financial lines and financial guaranty
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Directors and officers liability
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Commercial property
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Builders risk
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Life and health
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Cyber risks
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Environmental and energy
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Food contamination
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Surety
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Policyholder bankruptcy
TEAM
The insurance coverage and claims group has been handling complex insurance matters for four decades. It includes members of the American Law Institute and fellows in the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Both the practice group and individual members are nationally ranked by Chambers & Partners, and Cozen O’Connor has been praised in that publication as a “leader in the field.” Likewise, in a poll conducted by Reactions Legal Survey of insurers, reinsurers, and brokers from around the world, our insurance practice was ranked third overall in the United States. Our attorneys are recognized legal authorities, have written widely cited treatises on insurance matters, and regularly serve as consultants and law school faculty.
At Cozen O’Connor, we understand that excellent service does not simply mean addressing an immediate set of claims, but also keeping sharp watch for what is coming next. The size and scope of our practice is an enormous benefit in this regard. We have the geographic reach and human resources to spot developing trends and potential liabilities in coverage claims on a global basis. This allows us to start preparing solutions while other firms are still identifying the problem.