Life, AD&D, and Disability Insurance
Robinson & Cole is one of the few firms in the Northeast with a specific team of lawyers and nonlawyer professionals focusing on representation of life, disability, and AD&D insurers. In addition to defending individual and group benefits claim disputes, our experience in this area includes defending insurers in class action and market conduct litigation and in regulatory enforcement actions by state insurance departments and attorneys general. We also regularly counsel life and disability insurers on compliance with state insurance law requirements.
Our lawyers are leaders in professional associations and industry groups involving the business of life, disability, and AD&D insurers. We participate in the Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) Life, Health, and Disability Committee and the ABA's Tort and Insurance Practice (TIPS) Committee on Life, Health, and Disability Insurance. Our lawyers also have membership in the Association of Life Insurance Counsel (ALIC).
We advise and defend life insurers on policy coverage matters on the individual and group product markets for insurance and financial services products. We have litigated significant cases in the Northeast regarding policy rescission, application misrepresentation, interpleader actions, and market conduct claims involving allegations of deceptive trade and unfair insurance practices. Our experience includes defending claims involving vanishing premiums, agent misconduct, deceptive sales practices, and suitability claims.
We represent leading insurers in the individual and group disability coverage market in claim litigation involving all types of disability insurance products. We have brought declaratory judgment actions involving failure of insureds to comply with policy terms and conditions. We have obtained rescissions based on application misrepresentation, and we have obtained relief by recovering disability benefits in cases of fraud and overpayment. We regularly defend cases involving complex disability claims relating to psychiatric conditions, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. Our experience in this area includes the defense of common law and statutory bad faith claims, including punitive damages.
We defend claims for accidental death and dismemberment coverage in the individual and group benefits context. We have litigated cases involving issues such as proximate cause, existence of an accident, and policy exclusions for suicide, alcohol use, and illegal narcotics.
