Joshua Leach Questions Nevada Insurance Law in Law360 Article

On June 3, Nevada’s governor signed a new law (A.B. 398) prohibiting insurers from issuing or renewing defense-within-limits liability policies in the state, effective Oct. 1. These policies, which allow defense costs to erode policy limits, initially became more popular in response to the rising cost of malpractice claims against lawyers and medical professionals. In a new article for Law360, Atheria Law partner Joshua Leach contends that barring these policies could cause liability insurers to either withdraw certain products from the market or prohibitively increase premiums.

In response to these concerns, the governor signed an emergency regulation effective through Nov. 21, clarifying that A.B. 398 would only apply to “authorized” insurers and non-risk retention group captive insurers. The Nevada Division of Insurance also issued a guidance stating that liability policies must now include defense costs outside of the limits of liability, but that A.B. 398 does not require unlimited defense costs.

As Leach argues, the situation is still fluid, and only time will tell the true consequences of A.B. 398 in terms of pricing and availability of policies. But the possible impact of the law is worthy of careful consideration and monitoring.

Read the full article here: https://www.law360.com/articles/1716059/nev-insurance-law-may-mean-turmoil-in-liability-market

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