Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith

The Adler Law Group assists insurance carriers and policyholders alike by issuing opinions on coverage and offering litigation assistance in bad faith denial of claims matters.  Although our office is located in Los Angles, we assist clients throughout California and the remainder of the United States. 

Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Claims

Like the balance wheel which regulates a clock to keep it functioning as designed, analyzing coverage issues keeps the insurance carrier and its policyholders functioning as the policy was designed.  Every policy - whether CGL, homeowners, D&O, auto, professional E&O, inland marine, or other type - covers certain claims but excludes others.  The lawyers of the Adler Law Group have issued many hundreds, and probably thousands, of coverage opinions analyzing the boundary lines of coverage.  They have also frequently litigated declaratory relief actions (which generally also involve bad faith claims) associated with the insurance carrier's coverage position.

Coverage Opinions

Every policy - including homeowners, CGL, D&O, E&O, automobile, PPL - covers some claims but excludes others.  On the one hand, no insurance carrier need defend or indemnify more claims than the language of the policy encompasses, regardless of the demands of the policyholder.  On the other hand, if the language of the policy covers a claim, the carrier is obliged to cover that claim.  For over three decades, carriers have relied upon the thorough factual and legal analysis of the lawyers of Adler Law Group, as set forth in their coverage opinions, to deal with such issues. 

Litigation of Coverage and Bad Faith Claims

Policyholders do not necessarily accept every coverage position taken by their insurance carriers.  Because of this, policyholders frequently initiate declaratory relief actions in which they often also assert that the carrier acted in bad faith.  In a similar vein, insurance carriers seek to obtain judicial guidance about the meaning of their insurance policies or to resolve issues between themselves and their policyholders (or other insurance carriers) which they cannot otherwise resolve.  Because of their experience with various types of policies and their familiarity with such litigation, the lawyers of the Adler Law Group have been frequently retained in such declaratory relief/bad faith actions to represent insurance carriers and, on occasion, policyholders.

Providing Expert Testimony

Besides providing coverage opinions and litigating coverage/bad faith lawsuits, the managing partner of the Adler Law Group, Erwin Adler, has been active in educating claims professionals and attorneys about insurance coverage and related issues.  Erwin has been invited to make presentations to various professional groups and insurance carriers domestically and in London for two decades.  As a result, he is recognized as an authority on coverage and related issues.  His expertise has been recognized and thus, his expert testimony has been permitted in state and federal courts, as well as by arbitration panels.  While generally representing carriers as to coverage issues, he has also testified for policyholders.  For more information, visit the expert witness page.