Insurance Coverage in Determining a Duty to Defend or to Indemnify Claims Against their Insured
When you are sued and you present the case against you to your insurance company, the insurance company has many obligations that must be fairly assessed in determining two critical issues:
- Does the insurance company have an obligation to defend you in court with regard to the claim? And
- Does the insurance company have an obligation to pay a settlement or judgment against you with regard to the claim?
Further, there are times when an insurance companies will agree to defend or indemnify you but under a “reservation or rights”, which means they can go back after you, their own policy-holder, for expenses incurred in the defense or indemnity of the claim against you.
In determining these issues, the insurance company must fairly consider the facts but must also apply the language of the policy.