Insurance Law

I. Coverage Analysis

We have experience researching, analyzing, and litigating insurance coverage issues concerning the following policies of insurance: Automobile Liability, Commercial General Liability (CGL), Commercial Property, Homeowners and Real Estate Title. Principals of the firm have familiarity with Vermont’s insurance statutes, regulations from the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (formerly the Department of Banking and Insurance), and judicial opinions elaborating on principles of insurance policy construction.

II. Claim Handling

We also have familiarity with Vermont’s Fair Claims Handling Act (Chapter 129 of Title 8) and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Department of Financial Regulation.We have brought bad faith claims against insurers that lacked “reasonably debatable” grounds for their denials of coverage.

We have also hired and worked with independent insurance adjusters on our clients’ first-party property and casualty insurance claims to ensure that our clients receive all of the compensation to which they are entitled under their insurance policies after catastrophic losses including fires and frozen pipes. In more than one instance our client has ultimately gotten six-to-seven figures in additional compensation from their insurers after we were engaged to assist as compared with the insurer’s initial proposal. We are familiar with standard property, business interruption and extra expense coverages found within standard Vermont commercial property insurance forms, as well as less common coverages and Vermont-specific endorsements. We have assisted clients with their first-party insurance claims pursuant to hourly and contingent attorney’s fee agreements, though we typically only enter into the latter type of fee arrangement in claims involving significant losses.

Professionals Practicing in this Area