Insurance

Consulting & Litigation

Clear insurance advice from attorneys with years of experience
working within the insurance industry

Our attorneys worked for insurance providers on claims and coverage issues.
Now we work for you.

Is it in your best interest to receive advice on insurance policies from the vendor? 

CMBG3 Law’s insurance legal advisors have worked for major insurance companies, so we understand complex insurance contracts, how they handle claims, and coverage pitfalls. Our one-of-a-kind knowledge and experience is what you need to protect your business with the best insurance coverage. 

Evaluate risk

Insurance policies are lengthy, complex. and difficult to comprehend. With decades of experience working as the insurance professionals,  CMBG3 advisors will thoroughly evaluate your policy to make sure you are rightfully covered.

Explain coverage options

You need answers. CMBG3 Law is the best to provide them. Our advisors have your best interest in mind and with decades of experience as insurance professionals, we will explain your coverage options in detail so you are confident about your policy.

Develop Tailored Insurance Solutions

Insurance providers sell one-size-fits-all coverage that can fail to protect your unique business. CMBG3 will advise and negotiate for tailored insurance that truly protects your business

Compliance

Different states require specific types of coverage, which impact business loans, office space, and business agreements. CMBG3 ensures you are compliant for all business purposes.

See How We Helped Our Clients

The Right and The Duty

Businesses rely on commercial general liability coverage for protection from legal liability arising from bodily injury or property damage to a third-party. Classic examples of third-party actions include a customer who slips and falls, or a consumer who is injured by...
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Civil Unrest Adds to Challenges Facing Business Interruption Claims

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wave of business interruption claims and related coverage lawsuits from business impacted by widespread closures. As we noted in our previous analysis, these businesses face significant hurdles in obtaining coverage for pandemic-related...
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Two Recent Rulings Highlight Challenges For Policyholders in Business Interruption Coverage Litigation

As business interruption lawsuits continue to fill up court dockets, we are beginning to see the first wave come crashing down on policyholders. Whether this is a sign of things to come is still an open question for both policyholders and insurers. At present, there...
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Fight Over COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims Being Fought on Multiple Fronts

As business interruption claims continue to pile up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions are beginning to arise over how to best resolve the mass influx of expected claims. As courts across the country weigh various proposals including multidistrict...
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COVID-19 Pandemic Places Business Insurance Coverage Under the Microscope

Efforts by the business community and government to protect employees and the public from the COVID-19 virus have led to a tsunami of business closures and massive losses in income, estimated in the billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. It remains to be seen whether...
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John Gardella Publishes Cover Story in Claims Magazine

In the May 2019 issue of Claims magazine, John Gardella authored an article regarding autonomous vehicles and their future impact on the insurance industry that was published as the cover story in the prestigious industry publication. A copy of the article can be...
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An Offer You Can’t Refuse: Massachusetts Court Upholds Insurers’ Right to Control

The Massachusetts Superior Court ruled that an insurer who agrees to defend without a reservation of rights[1] may select defense counsel and control the defense of covered lawsuits. This ruling is consistent with Massachusetts precedent and reinforces limiting...
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Massachusetts Federal Court Clarifies Duty to Defend for Pollution Claims

Starting in the 1970’s, commercial generally liability (“CGL”) policies utilized a pollution exclusion that prohibited coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the discharge of various environmental contaminants. The exclusion did not, however,...
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California Supreme Court to Review All-Sums Insurance Allocation

  The California Supreme Court granted review of Montrose Chemical Corporation of California v. Superior Court, 14 Cal.App.5th 1306 (2017) (Montrose II).  In reviewing this case, the court has the opportunity to clarify or establish new precedent regarding...
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Single Occurrence Ruling Upheld in Illinois – Long Term Impact To Be Determined

Asbestos litigation in the United States is financed primarily through general liability insurance policies issued through the mid-to-late 1900s. Language within the policies defines an insurer’s right and duty to defend and indemnify an insured entity up to the...
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Should You Require

Legal Representation

Coverage Denials

If you are ever denied coverage, our attorneys will ensure that your rights under your insurance policy are upheld. CMBG3 attorneys previously worked for insurance companies, understand the motives behind such responses and know the duties owed to you.

Mediation & Arbitration

Often, insurance policies have clauses that require disputes to be mediated or arbitrated with neutral decision-makers prior to lawsuits. CMBG3 uses years of experience in insurance policies to maximize favorable outcomes in a cost-effective manner.

Trials

All of our attorneys are litigators, many of them with specific experience litigating insurance disputes. While often a last resort, we can represent your company in litigation and at trial to get the results that you desire.

Michaela Lancer

Attorney

Prior to joining CMBG3, Michaela Lancer worked at one of the largest claims administrators in the United States handling hundreds of complex insurance issues for companies and industries of all sizes. Attorney Lancer reviewed complex insurance policies and coverage opinions, participated in countless mediations and oversaw the litigation of claims that arose from the policies. Her unmatched experience in insurance coverage and litigation is available to all of our clients.

Email Michaela Lancer

Case Studies

The Right & Duty

Time and again, we have seen that language that seems straightforward in insurance policies can in fact be complex and ambiguous in ways that can impact your business. Language giving insurance companies “the right and duty” to certain things is just one such example. We have negotiated with insurance companies to avoid stressful and financially consuming pitfalls for our clients that can result from seemingly simple insurance policy clauses. Please see our article for more about our experience helping clients with insurance issues
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Day Spa Denial

A Cautionary Tale

One of our clients was a small day spa that filed a claim with its insurance company for an event and received a denial of coverage letter from the insurance company. The small business came to us for help to fight the denial based on the language in their insurance policies.

The event involved a client of the spa that filed a lawsuit alleging bodily injury resulting from a spa service. Our client’s insurance policy clearly covered bodily injury to a third-party and the client was hoping that we could challenge the denial. We reviewed the policy and found that injury resulting from any professional service offered by the spa was explicitly excluded and the insurance company’s decision was therefore justified. If they had come to us initially for insurance coverage advice, we would have helped them to obtain the protection that they needed, and would have negotiated and ensured that there was no such exclusion in the final insurance policy.