Insurance

We know the business behind the policy

An insurer is more than a party to a coverage dispute and related tort litigation. It is a regulated business managing policy obligations, employees, transactions and operational risk at the same time. We bring together lawyers across the firm so clients can address the immediate legal problem without losing sight of the business around it. Our work for insurance industry clients includes:

• Coverage analysis, policy interpretation, coverage opinions and claim handling counseling
• First-party bad faith, breach of contract and insurance tort litigation
• Complex, high-exposure third-party defense and catastrophic claims
• Litigation counseling, including trial monitoring and error preservation, as well as extraordinary writs and appeals

• ERISA, employee benefits and managed care litigation
• Employment disputes involving discrimination, wrongful termination and related workplace claims
• Regulatory and administrative matters before the Oklahoma Insurance Department
• Insurance issues arising in acquisitions, dispositions and other corporate transactions

Strategic defense against high exposure claims that put everything at risk

Insurers operating in Oklahoma face an increasingly difficult litigation environment, sophisticated plaintiffs’ firms and the threat of verdicts that bear no relationship to the contract amount in dispute. We defend first-party bad faith and breach of contract claims, complex coverage disputes, insurance tort claims, managed care litigation and complex third-party catastrophe matters. We help clients assess exposure early, develop the facts and advise on removal and case outlook and strategy that protects both the case and the business.

Our trial and appellate lawyers work together before a verdict puts the company on the defensive. We use proactive discovery, challenge unsupported theories and evaluate removal to federal court based on the unique facts of each case. Our trial and appellate teams also regularly consult on litigation, monitoring trial proceedings, preserving error and seeking extraordinary relief through a writ of mandamus or prohibition when necessary.

Insurance insight for the entire enterprise

Insurance companies face the same workforce, transactional and operational issues as other businesses, but each one unfolds inside a highly regulated industry. Our employment lawyers defend discrimination, wrongful termination and other workplace claims. Our employee benefits lawyers address ERISA and plan disputes. Our corporate lawyers advise on acquisitions, dispositions and the insurance issues that arise in a transaction. Our regulatory lawyers represent clients before the Oklahoma Insurance Department and respond to consumer complaints, agent solicitation issues and increasingly aggressive government enforcement theories, including RICO allegations.

Staying ahead of the claims, conflicts and exposures still taking shape

The strongest litigation strategy often begins in the claim file. Because we see the arguments plaintiffs are using and the practices regulators are questioning, we counsel insurers on claim handling before suit and identify recurring issues that can create avoidable exposure. We also help companies respond to consumer complaints involving claim handling or agent solicitation, evaluate coverage through declaratory judgment actions and address rescission, cancellation or interpleader issues before uncertainty compounds.

That forward-looking approach carries across the enterprise. When an insurance company faces an employment claim, an ERISA dispute, a transaction, regulatory scrutiny or an appeal, our full-service platform allows the right lawyers to step in without forcing the client to rebuild the team. The result is coordinated advice grounded in how insurers operate and built to address the full range of legal pressures affecting the industry.