The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted our lives, our livelihoods and the national economy. The response to the pandemic has in many respects brought out the best in all of us, but it has also led to widespread confusion about personal insurance benefits. Some issues have been resolved, while other issues are certain to arise, as […]
Since the publication in 1943 of James M. Cain’s noir classic, “Double Indemnity,” there has been a public fascination with accidental death insurance. Surprisingly, even when a sudden and unexpected death occurs other than as a result of a heart attack or other clear-cut medical condition, the issue of whether the death was accidental or […]
Mark D. DeBofsky is a name partner of DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds P.C. — on the web at debofsky.com. He handles civil and appellate litigation involving employee benefits, disability insurance and other insurance claims and coverage issues. He can be reached at [email protected] Causation is always a key issue in accidental death insurance claims as a recent […]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidents are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Will your loved ones be financially protected should you succumb to an untimely death due to an accident? Accidental death and dismemberment insurance (AD&D) may be purchased in addition to traditional life insurance or offered by […]
What is a crime? Because accidental death policies exclude coverage if death occurs in the course of a commission of a crime, the question can be challenging as a recent decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates. The ruling in Caldwell v Unum Life Insurance Company of America, 2019 WL 4463495 (10th […]
An inadvertent ambiguity in an insurance policy can be costly as Federal Insurance Co. learned in Tyll v. Stanley Black & Decker Life Insurance Program, 2019 WL 3081061 (D. Conn. July 12, 2019). There, the court resolved a motion for summary judgment seeking a determination as to the amount of business travel accident insurance owed […]