July 2024, Volume 17, No. 3

By Patrick Crandell

Hopefully, you’re finding ways to avoid the heat while still enjoying outdoor fun. One event not to miss is our July program on Cybersecurity: Key Strategies to Safeguard, Insure, Remediate and Defend Businesses against Cyber Attacks. We have industry experts presenting on identifying and safeguarding against ongoing threats. The program is July 19 at St. John’s Resort in Plymouth, and it includes a gourmet lunch and post-event social mixer.

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Waiver, Equitable Estoppel, and Mend the Hold in the Context of Insurance Coverage in Michigan

Part I of II, to be continued in the October 2024 edition

By Stephen M. Kelley and Elizabeth A. Downey

Recent case decisions and legal scholarship indicate more frequent legal arguments in the context of insurance disputes based on the related and sometimes overlapping concepts of waiver, estoppel, and even mend-the-hold, arguably legal “cousins”. This article introduces these concepts in the broader context of Michigan contract law, then discusses each in the more specific context of Michigan insurance law.

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By Michael S. Hale, J.D., CPCU, AAI

Managing risk is critical to restaurants and one of the most important tools is the insurance of the landlord and the tenant. Indemnity and hold harmless provisions are nice but may only be as good as the insurance which backs them up. In our insurance consulting for thousands of restaurants over the past thirty years, ineffective insurance requirements and coverages can make or break the restaurant and its landlord at the time of a major claim.

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By Christopher Best and John Sechler

In a unanimous opinion published on June 11, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court held in Williamson v AAA of Mich, ___ Mich ____ (2024), Docket no. 165131 that: MCL 500.3173a(4) provides that a person who presents a statement to the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility (“MAIPF”), or to an insurer to which the claim is assigned through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (“MACP”), for payment or other benefit knowing that the statement contains false information concerning a fact or thing that is material to the claim commits a fraudulent insurance act under the statute, even when that statement is committed during the course of litigation.

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By Christopher J. Petrick & Katharine Buehner Smith; Collins Einhorn Farrell PC

Democratic candidates won special elections held in both the 13th and 25th House Districts in April. The House Democrats now hold a 56-54 a majority for the remainder of the term. With a return to a Democratic majority across the Legislature, we can likely expect a busy finish to this legislative cycle.

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By Natasha L. Rao, Collins Einhorn Farrell PC

(September 2023 through December 2023)

Cancelation of an insurance policy is valid under MCL 500.2123, so long as the notice of cancelation and opportunity to cure defects related to that notice is sent to the insured address provided on an insurance application and subsequent declaration pages of the at-issue policy.

VanDuinen v Skiba Ins Servs
Unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued October 12, 2023
(Docket No. 361273), 2023 WL 6780347.

This case arises out of the cancelation of a homeowner’s insurance policy. The insured sought coverage under a homeowner’s insurance policy issued by Skiba Insurance Services (“Skiba”) and Northern Mutual Insurance Company (“Northern”) (collectively the “insurers”) for damages to the insured premises allegedly caused by squatters. Coverage was denied because the policy had been canceled and was deemed ineffective during the period of damage.

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By Rabih Hamawi

This topic may sound simple, but like many insurance topics, it has a few wrinkles. Naturally, the question begins with what “insured” means in a policy, and why is it important. The first step in the analysis is to review the Declarations Page (or formally known as the Common Policy Declarations) to determine who is the Named Insured. The Common Policy Declarations usually contains the following information.

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Originally hosted on Friday, April 19, 2024 at The Hub Stadium in Auburn Hills.

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JOURNAL DETAILS

This journal is published by the Insurance and Indemnity Law Section, State Bar of Michigan—Christine Caswell, Journal Editor.

Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors or the editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the section council or the membership.

If you have an article idea for the Journal, please contact the editor, Christine Caswell.

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