>>> Does your insurance have a "duty to defend" clause? If not, in my opinion, it effectively nullifies the insurance. <<<
Well, maybe not! It is well-settled in Pennsylvania that an insurer has a duty to defend its insured whenever there is a claim stated in a complaint that "potentially may become one which is within the scope of the policy." <Cadwallader v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co.> Thus, a duty to defend exists "[a]s long as the complaint comprehends an injury which may be within the scope of the policy." <United Services Auto. Assn. v. Elitzky> So, the "duty to defend" may exist, even though not explicitly stated within the policy, as there has been precedence set to so indicate.
The preceding is a paraphrased excerpt from an article that first appeared in The Legal Intelligencer, November 16, 2000, "Determining an Insurer's Duty to Defend as Between Covered and Non-Covered Claims: The Dichotomy Between Pennsylvania and New Jersey Law"
By: Neil S. Witkes, Esquire |
