Insurance Deadlines Subject of Kirk Pasich's "On the Clock"

Dickstein Shapiro attorney Kirk Pasich writes often and well for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Here, from the DJ's "Focus" column is his most recent article, On the Clock.

by Kirk Pasich

Insurance policies typically contain various provisions that specify deadlines by which insureds "must" do certain things in order to obtain coverage. For example, commercial general liability policies and other third-party liability policies typically obligate an insured to provide notice of a claim or suit "as soon as practicable." Some variants of these policies also specify that in order to obtain coverage, a claim must be both made against the insured within the policy period and reported to the insurer with the policy period or a specified period of time thereafter.

Property insurance policies and other first-party insurance policies also contain deadlines. For example, these policies typically require that an insured provide notice of a loss or events that may give rise to a loss "as soon as practicable," that insureds provide a proof of loss within a specified period of time (typically 30 or 60 days), and that an insured file a suit against the insurer within one or two years after inception of the loss. California's standard contractual limitations provision states:

"No suit or action on this policy for the recovery of any claim shall be sustainable in any court of law or equity unless all the requirements of this policy shall have been complied with, and unless commenced within 12 months next after inception of the loss." California Insurance Code Section 2071(a).

Read full article - On the Clock - here.