Practice
Insurance coverage litigation for policyholders
A business pays for its policy for years. When it finally needs the carrier, the answer is a denial letter.
Fintan Brancato leads this group. We represent businesses and building owners, not insurers, when a carrier denies a property or business-interruption claim, or refuses to defend a policyholder in a lawsuit someone else filed. We read the policy the way the court will, and start with the exclusion the carrier relied on.
Cases like
Denied property and water-damage claims
Business-interruption losses
Refusals to defend under a liability policy
Underpaid fire and storm claims
Claims handled in bad faith
Where a coverage case starts
Coverage cases are won in the policy's own words.
The denial letter
Which exclusion the carrier named, and whether it fits what actually happened.
The whole policy
Endorsements and definitions often narrow an exclusion the letter quotes on its own.
The duty to defend
A carrier may owe you a defense even when it may not owe the claim.
Sample matters
Coverage matters like these
Paid $96,000
Denied water-damage claim, warehouse roof
For a building owner, after the carrier's exclusion was shown not to fit the loss.
Defense accepted
Refusal to defend a contractor
The carrier took over the defense and paid past fees once the complaint was read against the policy.
Settled for $58,500
Business-interruption claim
For a family restaurant closed after a kitchen fire, at mediation.
These are sample matters written for this template, not results the firm has obtained. Past results don't guarantee or predict a similar outcome; every case turns on its own facts and law.
Asked often about denied claims
Are you a public adjuster?
No. We're lawyers. We step in when the carrier has denied or stalled the claim, or refuses to defend you, and a lawsuit or appraisal may be needed.
The carrier wants a recorded statement. Should I give one?
Talk to a lawyer before you do. The policy may require cooperation, but how and when you give a statement matters.
How long do I have to challenge a denial?
Many policies set their own deadline to sue, often much shorter than the law otherwise allows. Find the suit-limitation clause, or send us the policy and we will.
A denial letter you don't believe?
Send it with the policy. We'll read both and tell you whether the carrier's reason holds up.