My Opinion About Insurance Coverage Opinions

As anyone with a large insurance practice knows, insurance companies sometimes reach out to outside counsel not to request the defense of a lawsuit against an insured (or perhaps the insurer itself), but instead to ask for a coverage opinion. But as a judge once asked to me, "why does an insurance company need a lawyer (or, in the case of a declaratory judgment action, a judge) to tell the insurer what its own policy means?" Well, with apologies to the great Yogi Berra, "in [insurance], you don't know nothing."

Although requests for coverage opinions can be for property damage issues, coverage opinions are most frequently requested in casualty/liability claims. In such cases the insurer must determine whether a claim or lawsuit falls within the policy coverage such that the insurer owes a duty to its insured to defend and indemnify. In many cases the facts of the claim against the insured are so clear, the insurer can determine the claim is either covered, in which