Risk Management & Insurance Law

Our insurance coverage practice includes policy interpretation and drafting for all lines of insurance, as well as coverage litigation. We regularly advise our clients on insurance coverage issues arising under commercial general liability, construction, homeowners, commercial property, personal and commercial auto, transportation and trucking, professional liability, environmental and toxic exposure, cargo/marine and other multi-line property and casualty coverages.

Members of the Risk Management & Insurance Law Practice Group also have drafted numerous manuscript insurance policy provisions for underwriters, producers and captive insurance programs, addressing such diverse subject matters as construction defect exposures, intellectual property liability risks, liquidated damages and OSHA liability, to name a few. We have litigated some of the most important insurance coverage cases in California history. Among those are appellate and Supreme Court decisions involving the duty to defend, the no-action clause, advertising injury coverage, interpretation of the claims-made coverage trigger, the intentional acts doctrine, the criminal acts exclusion, the supplementary payments provision, the effect of misrepresentation or concealment and the rights and obligations of self-insureds.

Haight has an extensive litigation practice involving insurance bad faith cases and derivative claims, such as unfair business practices, unfair claims handling, fraud and misrepresentation. We combine our insurance experience with the firm’s extraordinary litigation resources to the advantage of our clients. Our lawyers have the ability to obtain excellent results through trial when necessary, a capability that is respected by clients and opposing counsel alike.

We represent insurers and policyholders in drafting and enforcement of contractual indemnity agreements, additional insured endorsements, “other insurance” provisions, contribution rights, defense obligations and claims for benefits due under insurance policies. Because of the strong technical backgrounds which our lawyers bring to these disputes, we often are able to avoid extended litigation, and its related expense, through early evaluation and negotiation.

Our lawyers serve as monitoring counsel for insurers, policyholders and self-insureds in construction, environmental, employment, premises, product and professional liability cases regionally and nationally. We are involved in all aspects of managing those cases, including budgeting, reserving and strategy.

Our reinsurance practice includes contract reviews and drafting of wordings for insurance companies, reinsurers and captive programs; monitoring and handling arbitrations and litigation arising out of reinsurance collection disputes and insurer insolvencies; and negotiation of commutation agreements. Our lawyers have represented cedents and reinsurers in arbitrations and litigation involving such issues as fraud and misrepresentation, follow the fortunes, claims control, “bad faith” allocation, treaty exclusions and facultative limits on allocated expense.

“We appreciate your firm’s professionalism and approachability, genuinely like the lawyers and staff, and consider you one of our true business partners. Your work sells itself. Feel free to use that for a testimonial someplace if you’d like.” David Neumeister, Sr. Vice President, Corporate Secretary & General Counsel, HDI-Gerling America Insurance Company