Strategies, Challenges, and Answers

Mills & Associates Thinks Insurance Companies Should Hire Two Different Firms To Handle Their Third-Party Defense VS. Their First-Party Coverage And Bad Faith Matters

Periodically, we like to interview our clients to find out how we can better serve them.  I conducted one of those “pulse taking” interviews last week with the representative of a client that sends me coverage and bad faith work.  After discussing with him how we might improve our relationship, I was ending the conversation as I usually do by asking: “Is there anything else on your desk that I can help you with today?” He paused for a second and said he was sure that his company had a number of third-party bodily injury cases that it could send us.  But he reiterated his company’s policy that it liked to keep its panel of coverage and bad faith attorneys separate from those who do the third-party bodily injury work.

Nevada Insurance Law, Mills & Associates Nevada Insurance and Coverage Lawyers 702-240-6060 The company is wise to do that and it is heartening to know that others ascribe to the same philosophy that we have here at Mills & Associates.  While the line between these two types of cases is not always as bright as we would like, it is a best practice to have separate firms handle third-party bodily injury defense and the first party / bad faith / coverage work.  By using separate firms, the company can take advantage of the knowledge of the firm that does that specialized type work.  More importantly however, by separating the two, the company neutralizes the argument that the third-party liability firm made a bad coverage call just to placate the third-party liability adjusters who send his firm cases.  That perceived conflict of interest can really harm a coverage or bad faith case.  It’s always good to see when best practices rise to the top and become well entrenched in the industry.

About Michael Mills

Mr. Mills practices in the area of civil litigation and appeals, with particular experience in matters involving trucking liability, insurance defense, insurance coverage, premises liability, products liability and defense of personal injury. Mr. Mills is a member of the Trucking Insurance Defense Association, the Defense Research Institute Trucking Committee and the Nevada Motor Transport Association. Mr. Mills is licensed to practice before the Nevada Supreme Court and the Utah Supreme Court. He is also licensed to appear before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Nevada and Utah, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Mills has created 3 Blogs for the benefit of the insurance industry. He serves as editor and publisher of the Nevada Insurance Law Blog, the Nevada Coverage and Bad Faith Blog and the Nevada Trucking Law Blog.

 
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