Survey of Developments in Insurance Coverage Law for 2014-2016

Connecticut courts considered numerous insurance coverage and other insurance-related issues in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Connecticut Supreme Court addressed both coverage and non-coverage-related insurance matters, including issues pertaining to continuous injury and the duty to defend under successive insurance policies, evidence of voluntary intoxication in sexual misconduct with minor claims, subrogation, unfair trade practice claims based on labor rates used to estimate auto body repair estimates, the Connecticut Insurance Guaranty Association, and the Connecticut Insurance Department’s investigation of insurance producers. Other Connecticut state courts issued a variety of insurance-related decisions, on topics ranging from the proof required to establish an unfair insurance practice to title insurance for the home of late actress Katharine Hepburn. Federal courts also issued decisions regarding a variety of insurance-related issues, including the impact of intentional or reckless acts on insurance coverage, and, most notably, one of Connecticut’s most highly publicized insurance topics, the so-called “crumbling foundations” cases.