Primary Practice Contact: Richard A. Vazquez
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We Represent Insurance Industry Clients in Coverage
and Bad Faith Matters
We have extensive experience handling insurance claims and coverage issues—assisting both insurers and policyholders before a lawsuit is filed, throughout litigation and trial when necessary.
We regularly represent insurers, as well as their agents, producers, and third-party administrators in breach of contract, breach of duty, and extra-contractual litigation. We also regularly counsel insurers well before a lawsuit is filed by issuing written opinions on insurance coverage, written analysis of liability claims, and pre-suit counseling on claims handling, claims investigation, underwriting, policy binding and procurement, and litigation tactics.
We make every effort to protect insurers from bad faith lawsuits by providing sound advice during the initial claims stage. This entails applying our extensive experience and knowledge of state insurance regulations, statutes and applicable cases dealing with coverage, procurement, and claims handling. Taking thorough steps at the claims handling stage helps minimize the likelihood that an insured will be able to use bad faith or breach-of-duty allegations as a litigation tactic to force payment of an otherwise unmeritorious claim.
derlying liability actions that are geared to ensure good faith conduct and possibly secure favorable settlements considering existing coverage disputes. At the outset of every claim assignment, we identify and assess the carrier’s “goal” for the claim to ensure that we resolve it in a manner consistent with the carrier’s objectives.Policyholder Representation
We advise individuals, corporate policyholders and their officers and directors, as well as governmental entities and other organizations in connection with insurance coverage issues and claims. We counsel our policyholder clients on understanding the role of their insurance policies in their overall risk management strategy. We analyze insurance policy language to address large and small loss or liability issues, and identify insurance-related legal issues in connection with a company’s or individual’s overall business or risk management strategy.
We also have extensive experience advising clients regarding a wide range of insurance policy issues, including those relating to business liability, comprehensive general liability, federal motor carrier liability, directors and officers liability, products liability, property damage and business interruption losses, professional indemnity/errors and omissions, crime/fidelity losses, employment-related liabilities, cyber risk losses, toxic tort and environmental liabilities, construction defects, and government investigations, as well as life and disability, accidental death, and homeowners and auto liability.
Insurance Policy Counsel
We represent policyholder clients in the analysis, negotiation, and litigation of disputed claims for coverage; in providing a variety of insurance counseling and advisory services including insurance policy review; and identification of potential pitfalls and concerns to be raised with a policyholder’s broker, agent, or producer.
Let Our Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Attorneys Help
Our insurance coverage and bad faith lawyers are ready to help. For more information about our insurance practice area, please contact Richard A. Vazquez.
Practice Contacts
Richard A. Vazquez
- Shareholder
- 801.322.9216
- rv@scmlaw.com
