Insurance & Reinsurance
The Troutman Sanders Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group features a nationally preeminent insurance practice representing a wide range of companies – from some of the largest international insurers to smaller companies offering specialty policies. This extensive experience representing insurers in all areas of insurance and coverage provides a strong foundation for the Group’s general liability, mass torts, environmental coverage, insurance “bad faith,” and reinsurance practice areas. In addition, many of attorneys in the Group are also members of the D&O and Professional Liability Practice Group which handles insurance coverage issues relating to directors & officers, employment liability, fidelity bonds and professional liability.
More than 80 attorneys devote either a portion of their practice or their entire practice to insurance law. In order to provide comprehensive service to the Firm’s insurer clients, the Group’s attorneys also frequently tap lawyers from over 50 practice areas offered by Troutman Sanders, including complex litigation attorneys, corporate counsel, regulatory experts, and environmental, employment and antitrust attorneys.The Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group covers virtually all the major legal issues faced by insurers today and their experience in the field is both broad and deep.
The Group’s attorneys have handled bad faith and extracontractual matters in state and federal courts across the country, and they have achieved landmark court decisions in the areas of mass tort, environmental coverage, and general liability. Additionally, the Group works with several insurers who offer policies to specialized industries such as health care and media. The Group also recognizes that successful business relationships begin with a sincere respect for the client and a passion for supporting the client’s business objectives. They have been working with insurers for more than 25 years, handling the major issues that confront the industry.
Mass Torts
The attorneys of the Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group have represented insurance clients in hundreds of coverage disputes arising out of a number of high profile mass tort lawsuits. Sometimes their work involves representing insurers in active and hard fought litigation, but often it involves quietly and confidentially representing their clients, negotiating favorable settlements or convincing skeptical insureds that there is no coverage for the claims at issue. The Group relies on Troutman Sanders’ expertise in a number of areas including products liability, IP, and construction, to provide a full analysis of the underlying cases from both a coverage and an exposure basis. The Group’s experience includes the following:
-
The Group’s attorneys have had tremendous success in defending clients in matters concerning asbestos, tobacco, HIV-infected blood transfusions, environmental pollution, and drug manufacturing. They have been at the forefront of litigating fraudulent claims filed against the insurance industry, responding with a coordinated strategy for stopping abuse.
-
The Group has served as national coordinating counselor for major insurers, developing and implementing updated and consistent strategies for managing unique exposures, such as the COX-2 inhibitor cases and sexual abuse claims brought against Catholic institutions.
-
The Group’s attorneys have served as national counsel for insurers that issue coverage to companies and trade associations that are defendants in lead paint and gun manufacturing litigation. The Group’s attorneys have assisted their clients in developing comprehensive plans to limit exposure from such claims.
-
The Group’s attorneys have helped coordinate insurer clients’ response to lawsuits alleging damages due to exposure from allegedly defective building products. They advise their clients about their rights and duties under policies and also help develop strategies to deal with the difficult legal and practical issues involved in these complex cases.
-
The Group’s attorneys have served as national counsel for insurers faced with claims against their insureds involving the use of cell phones. Group attorneys litigate coverage actions and advise clients on how best to avoid such litigation. They analyze coverage issues and provide clients with advice on how to respond to these potentially massive claims.
Environmental Coverage
The Group represents insurance companies in environmental coverage litigation in both federal and state courts throughout the country. These matters involve litigation concerning extensive contamination or alleged contamination at scores of sites. Group attorneys counsel insurance companies regarding their defenses and obligations prior to litigation. During litigation, the Group employs all appropriate strategies to ensure their clients’ needs are met. Group attorneys have been effective and successful in litigation involving a wide range of insureds, including oil and gas companies, chemical manufacturers, and others. Moreover, the Group is backed with the support Troutman Sanders’ nationally recognized Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group, one of the most comprehensive and experienced environmental law practices in the United States with more than forty attorneys. The following are important characteristics of the Group’s environmental coverage practice:
-
Whenever possible, the Group looks for non-litigious solutions by mediating and/or directly negotiating between the client and the insured in the hopes of reaching a favorable outcome for both parties.
-
Group attorneys prepare comprehensive settlement packages, pressing legal and factual positions on behalf of clients that seek to reduce projected clean up costs, increase participation by other potentially responsible parties, minimize defense costs, and generally resolve the matter in as comprehensive and expeditious a manner as possible.
When litigation arises, the Group’s depth of experience and capacity enable them to oversee large cases involving difficult claims, class actions, injunctions, and all of the other issues that arise in complex insurance litigation.
General Liability
The Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group has represented insurance companies in hundreds of general liability issues. The Group has handled matters involving product recall and contamination, advertising injury, product liability, and transportation liability claims, among others. Characteristics of the Group’s general liability practice include the following:
-
Representing insurers in coverage and related issues, determining if and when claims are covered under certain policies or if those policies were legitimately obtained.
-
Providing assessments on the merits of malpractice, injury, and other claims.
-
Negotiating creative, cost-efficient, favorable settlements whenever possible to limit the client’s exposure.
The Group’s coverage practice frequently involves counseling insurers regarding their coverage obligations prior to litigation. When litigation is warranted, the Group has successfully represented general liability carriers in coverage lawsuits throughout the country.
Reinsurance
The Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group has navigated a range of legal issues including excess of loss coverage, unallocated loss adjustment expense, fronting arrangements, follow-the-fortunes, rescission, arbitrability of claims and other issues. The Group’s experience includes the following:
-
Representing large national insurers in their efforts to obtain reinsurance for defense and indemnification of claims.
-
Using the Group’s significant arbitration and mediation expertise to represent both reinsurers and ceding companies in reinsurance disputes.
-
Acting as expert witnesses in reinsurance arbitrations.
-
Representing insurers in connection with disputes involving coverage for punitive damages, allocation of losses among policy years, and reinsurance retentions, the majority of which are in medical or managed care areas.
-
Achieving favorable results for Group clients through both arbitral awards and settlement.
Insurance “Bad Faith”
“Bad faith” and other extracontractual claims are among the most complex and high-stakes matters that insurance companies face. The Group understands the gravity of these claims and has extensive experience handling bad faith and extracontractual matters. The Group has represented insurers that have been accused of breaching duties owed to their insureds and also to third parties. Characteristics of the Group’s practice and experience include the following:
-
Serving as national coordinating counsel and regional coordinating counsel for major insurers. The Group defends, coordinates, and monitors bad faith litigation, assisting clients in the early analysis of matters to ensure that appropriate claims are promptly resolved and unjustified claims are properly defended. In addition, the Group offers counseling to help maintain good faith claims handling practices in the clients’ operations.
-
Advising and defending insurers in “excess judgment” situations. Handling these situations frequently requires an in-depth analysis of complex, inter-connecting issues of both substantive and procedural law – often under time deadlines that make prompt action essential.
-
Representing insurers in lawsuits that allege bad faith because the insurer overpaid claims under retrospectively rated policies. The Group’s experience in dealing with these matters gives the Group attorneys a substantial advantage in providing efficient and effective service to any insurer facing such a unique and challenging lawsuit.
The Group has handled hundreds of these and other matters in both state and federal courts across the country. When appropriate, Group attorneys work closely with their clients to settle matters confidentially before litigation arises. When litigation is warranted, however, the Group has the experience necessary to effectively represent their clients’ best interests and achieve favorable results.