Inter-Insurer Fights Sure To Emerge From Fatal Pa. Explosion

Matt Schlesinger’s commentary appeared in a Law360 article about property and personal injury coverage issues stemming from a fatal factory explosion in Pennsylvania.

"The insurers are going to be wondering who's at fault and if it's a third-party entity other than its insured, then they may look to that entity. With any explosion, there could be some questions about who may be at fault," Matt said.

He stressed that it is important a policyholder not inadvertently forfeit subrogation rights when resolving a claim with a third party, noting that some policies require the carrier's consent before an insured settles with a third party.

"Typically, there are clauses in the various policies, which mandate that the policyholder can't jeopardize the rights that the insurer may have without the insurer's consent," he said. "So, that is one thing that policyholders in this type of situation would want to keep in mind."

Matt concluded that the best way of dealing with underlying suits and potential coverage battles is to have attentive policyholder counsel. "You need a quarterback to manage all of this. Typically, we as policyholder counsel act as that quarterback because there are so many different moving parts. From the underlying counsel focused an ongoing investigation to the insurers, someone's got to make sure that the policyholder understands the policies, communications with the insurers are done properly, that an insurer's rights are preserved and that the insurers get what information they say they need in order to provide the coverage they promised."