Insurance Companies

Insurance coverage issues arise in a wide variety of litigation as well as in the daily conduct of business. Lawyers in Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard's insurance practice group bring a broad range of litigation and business experience to their representation of insurers and policyholders. Some of the types of insurance products regarding which we regularly provide counsel and opinions include:

  • Commercial general liability insurance
  • Financial loss insurance
  • Professional liability
  • Directors and officers liability
  • Title insurance
  • Ocean and marine coverage
  • Aviation
  • Media and electronic-commerce
  • Health insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Accidental death and disability insurance
  • Automobile insurance
  • Property insurance
  • Casualty insurance
  • Worker's compensation insurance
  • Excess, umbrella and self-insured risk
  • Reinsurance

The first question that an insurer or an insured may have when put on notice of a lawsuit is whether or not coverage is available. An answer may require in-depth analysis with relatively short response time. Our depth of experience in coverage matters allows us to provide timely responses to these requests without sacrificing thoroughness.

Trial and Litigation Practice
Of course, much of our practice involves the litigation of coverage disputes. The firm was founded by trial lawyers and each member of the insurance coverage group is a trial lawyer. In this connection, we offer litigation experience and expertise of the highest level and have what we believe is the rare capacity to both litigate insurance coverage disputes and, if necessary, take them to trial.

Litigation Management and Monitoring
We are also regularly called upon to monitor litigation for our clients. For insurers, this may involve representation of an excess or umbrella carrier in connection with underlying litigation that may implicate their policy limits. For policyholders, we work with their carriers to make sure that they provide defenses and indemnity consistent with policy obligations. "Bad faith" is often a component of insurance disputes, and we bring considerable depth of litigation experience to this area of law.

Business Counseling
In addition to our trial practice, the firm has a well-established business and corporate practice. Insurance is an important component of a well-planned business's creation and continued operation. We combine our knowledge of business risks, asset protection, and bottom lines with our coverage litigation expertise to help clients make informed choices about the types of insurance that their businesses need.

Claims Handling Process Consulting
The attorneys in our litigation practice have significant experience in litigation coverage disputes. Our experience allows us to look at the claims handling process from a litigator's perspective. We rely upon this experience to provide claims handling departments of insurance carriers with claims handling auditing services.

Representative Engagements
Recent representative engagements include:

  • Representation of a professional liability carrier in coverage litigation instituted by a medical professional that sought coverage under his policy after accusations of sexual impropriety by a patient. After very limited discovery, we were able to secure summary judgment on behalf of our client.

  • Representation of a manufacturer who was joined as a party to construction-defect lawsuits in a venue far from its place of business. We located applicable insurance coverage for the client, worked with the insurance carrier to secure appropriate local counsel, and monitored this litigation for several years, ultimately leading to the client's dismissal from the underlying litigation by way of summary judgment. Although total defense costs were significant, our representation caused the client to have minimal out of pocket expenses because of the coverage that we secured for it.

  • Regular representation of group benefits insurer in benefits coverage litigation in state and federal courts in Missouri and Illinois.

  • Regular representation of national title insurer in first and third party coverage litigation.

Representative Clients and References
Unlike some firms, we represent both insurers and policyholders. Although conflicts may arise that preclude our representation in particular cases, we find that being able to handle disputes from both sides of the insurance policy ultimately benefits our clients. Our insurance clients include large national insurers, manufacturers, medical practices, service businesses and individuals. Both the firm and each attorney individually are happy to provide client references on request, and subject to our clients' approval.