Courts Reinforce Limits On Insurers’ Efforts To Avoid Coverage

A legal analysis of two appellate decisions said courts continue to limit insurers’ efforts to avoid coverage through exclusions and public policy arguments. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. RI Settlement Trust rejected an exclusion the insurer had not written into the policy. The New Jersey Appellate Division in Caliciotti v. Progressive Garden State Insurance Co. held that the insurer, not the policyholder, bears the burden of proving an exclusion applies.