Articles Posted in Insurance Law

Some disability insurance companies have attempted a perplexing defense with insureds whose declining health has led to a period of unemployment prior to filing a claim for disability benefits. The argument is that the sick insured had not been working, had therefore abandoned his occupation, and having no longer having a gainful occupation from which…

Georgia law does not require total helplessness, or a strict and literal interpretation to total disability income policies, but employs a reasonable interpretation in light of the insured’s customary occupation, experience, education, and physical and mental capabilities. In Parker v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, 224 Ga.App. 865, 482 S.E.2d 483 (1997), the Georgia Court…

A leading scholarly commentator on insurance law has explained the “reasonable expectations” principle as follows: The objectively reasonable expectations of applicants and intended beneficiaries regarding the terms of insurance contracts will be honored even though painstaking study of the policy provisions would have negated those expectations. R. Keeton, “Insurance Law Rights at Variance with Policy…

A federal court win for the home team was just published at Giddens v.The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 356 F.Supp.2d 1313(N.D.Ga.,2004) [Westlaw $$$]. We represented a dentist / real estate developer on a disability insurance claim after he had liver failure requiring a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic. The insurance…

The most quoted and least meaningful phrase we hear about automobile insurance is, “I’ve got full coverage.” People who say that generally turn out to have insurance agents who failed to inform them of what they need, and their coverage is generally the minimum amount of insurance required by state law. This post discusses the…