Miller Friel presented at the American Bar Association’s Women of the Section of Litigation CLE Conference on November 7, 2014 in Chicago, on the following program: “Knock Knock, Who’s There? It’s the Government: Successful Strategies for Defending Against Government Investigation and Securing Insurance Coverage for that Defense.” See ABA Women of the Section of Litigation 11-07-14 Handouts.
Topics discussed included some of the key considerations for securing insurance coverage when a government investigation is initiated. Providing notice to a policyholder’s insurance carrier(s) as soon as possible is an important and complex issue, given the varying nature of how different policies address the commencement of a Claim. Coverage questions arise early on when and if the government initiates an investigation, even if they do so by a phone call or document request before issuing a subpoena. Thus, even before a subpoena, a policyholder may incur costs as it secures counsel, responds to a document request, conducts an internal investigation, and takes other actions. When coverage counsel is involved in discussions from the outset, counsel can determine whether the government request qualifies as a Claim, and position the request for coverage to the insurer in the most advantageous way.
For example, in situations where there is a sealed complaint, counsel can work with defense counsel to determine how to frame notice to the insurer without prejudicing the policyholder’s defense or privilege protections. Further, if the parties consider settlement with the government, it is important to understand whether and how certain fines and penalties may be covered before the commencement of active settlement discussions with the government.
With governmental investigations, insurance coverage is critical to protecting a company’s interests. When confronted with a governmental investigation, policyholders should act quickly to retain coverage counsel so that the maximum amount of costs expended in that investigation are covered by insurance.
Miller Friel, PLLC is a specialized insurance coverage law firm whose sole purpose is to help corporate clients maximize their insurance coverage. Our Focus of exclusively representing policyholders, combined with our extensive Experience in the area of insurance law, leads to greater efficiency, lower costs and better Results. Further discussion and analysis of insurance coverage issues impacting policyholders can be found in our Miller Friel Insurance Coverage Blog and our 7 Tips for Maximizing Coverage series.