Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability

< Back to Practices

Marshall Dennehey represents retail and wholesale insurance agencies and brokerage firms of all sizes and sophistication, ranging from family-owned businesses to nationally-known managing general agents and risk retention groups in state and federal court. We defend these clients against claims involving allegations of professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract and fraud, among others. We routinely defend claims by policyholders and carriers across multiple lines of coverage, in admitted and surplus markets.

As trial lawyers with extensive experience dealing with all aspects of both underwriting and claims processes, we pride ourselves in the efficient resolution of actions brought against our clients, whether by securing court dismissals on dispositive motions in civil suits, mitigating risk via alternative dispute resolution, or providing an aggressive defense through trial to verdict. 

Emerging trends in claims against insurance agents and brokers may suggest an expanding "special relationship" and a heightened duty to advise. While this trend is challenging for the defense bar, the breadth of our practice enables us to shape the evolving common law and monitor national case law as it develops. Our longstanding relationships with a number of E&O carriers provide us with a unique perspective as we maximize resources to achieve the best results for our clients at the right cost. Evolving regulatory and licensing matters are also a challenge that we are well-equipped to handle.

In addition to litigation, we routinely provide in-house risk management training for E&O carriers throughout the country and for agents/brokers through industry trade organizations including the National Faculty for the Society of CIC, the CPCU Society, Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation, and state and local trade groups. Currently, we operate professional liability hotlines on behalf of E&O clients. Our attorneys are also active in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) and frequently publish on agent/broker E&O topics in leading industry publications including PLUS Journal; The Institutes CPCU Society's professional journal, Insights; and the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) newsletter, Riding the E&O Line.

Our Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability Practice Group serves clients from our 19 offices located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Florida and Ohio, and in neighboring jurisdictions in Maryland, Connecticut, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Craig Hudson
Craig S. Hudson,
Additional contact
Ventura_Timothy
Timothy G. Ventura,
Additional contact

Court Reiterated Prevailing Standard in Pennsylvania for Establishing Existence of ‘Special Relationship’ Between Insurance Customer and Insurance Broker.

Philadelphia - Headquarters
Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability
The court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss to strike references to a “special relationship” owed to the plaintiffs premised on the defendant’s purported “cultivat[ion of] a relationship of trust and confidence.” The court agreed with the Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2024 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers.
Read More

Lawsuit Against West Virginia Insurance Broker Dismissed.

Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability

In a case where we represented an insurance broker, a Federal District Judge from the Southern District of West Virginia granted our motion to dismiss and dismissed the suit in its entirety. The plaintiff was a women’s fashion and accessory boutique. The suit arose from a dispute over the plaintiff’s insurance coverage for damages it sustained while being ordered to close by West Virginia’s COVID-19-related orders. The insurance carrier filed a motion to dismiss, and, thereafter, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the carrier.

Read More

Successful Defense of Insurance Agency and Agent in Ohio Appellate Court.

Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability

We defended an insurance agency and agent in the Twelfth Appellate District of Ohio. The plaintiffs contacted the insurance agent to obtain insurance for two residential properties. The agent obtained the requisite information for the insurance applications from the plaintiffs, including their primary mailing address, a post office box address. The agent advised them that their only insurance option was through the Ohio Fair Plan (OFP), as neither property had been insured in the prior three years. The plaintiffs gave the agent a check for the premium.

Read More

Summary Judgment for Insurance Agency and Agent.

Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability

We obtained summary judgment on behalf of an insurance agency and insurance agent in a fraud action. Venued in Cincinnati, the case involved a dispute over the agent’s alleged failure to procure insurance coverage for a residence that sustained extensive, uncovered fire damage. The client had assisted the two homeowners in procuring insurance coverage for their residential properties with the Ohio Fair Plan Underwriting Association, an entity created by the Ohio legislature to provide insurance for property that is not insurable in the normal insurance market.

Read More

Summary Judgment for Insurance Broker in Negligence and Breach of Contract Action

Insurance Agents & Brokers Liability

Obtained summary judgment in Nassau County, New York on behalf of an insurance broker in a negligence and breach of contract action. Our client allegedly failed to procure proper insurance coverage, resulting in uninsured Superstorm Sandy-related losses claimed to be in excess of  $2.3 million.  The court granted summary judgment and dismissal of the complaint, finding that the plaintiffs were unable to support its claims without non-hearsay evidence.

Read More