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Articles 1 - 24 of 24
Full-Text Articles in Law
Reflections On Covid-19, Insurance, Business Interruption, Systemic Risk, And The Future, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Reflections On Covid-19, Insurance, Business Interruption, Systemic Risk, And The Future, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major loss event for the insurance industry. This chapter begins with an overview of the pandemic’s most significant insurance implications. Because business interruption has been the most prominently discussed of these impacts, the second part of this chapter takes a closer look at business interruption insurance. This part describes how markets for this coverage are structured in the U.S., and then undertakes a detailed analysis of one of the most common business interruption policy forms, demonstrating that some aspects of this form, insofar as pandemic-caused business interruption is concerned, were not drafted with utmost precision. …
Moving Beyond Medical Debt, Brook E. Gotberg, Michael D. Sousa
Moving Beyond Medical Debt, Brook E. Gotberg, Michael D. Sousa
Faculty Publications
In recent years it has become clear that medical costs are imposing severe financial burdens on American families, sometimes to the point that bankruptcy becomes the only escape from crippling debt. When evaluating the well-established connection between outstanding medical debt and consumer bankruptcy, most existing empirical studies attempt to quantify the percentage of consumer bankruptcies that are "caused" by unmanageable medical indebtedness. This Article addresses what we believe to be a more significant line of empirical inquiry, namely, the connection between health insurance coverage and consumer bankruptcy as a more precise measurement of how national health insurance programs may or …
"Undue Hardship" And Uninsured Americans: How Access To Healthcare Should Impact Student-Loan Discharge In Bankruptcy, Alexander Gouzoules
"Undue Hardship" And Uninsured Americans: How Access To Healthcare Should Impact Student-Loan Discharge In Bankruptcy, Alexander Gouzoules
Faculty Publications
Student-loan debt has grown to unprecedented heights. Contributing to the severe burden imposed by these debts is the Bankruptcy Code’s unique presumption that they are not dischargeable. To overcome that presumption, a debtor must establish that repayment of her loans would constitute an “undue hardship.” This essay examines the disagreement among bankruptcy courts that have interpreted the “undue hardship” standard in situations where a debtor is unable to afford health insurance—a common occurrence among the economically disadvantaged. After examining recent healthcare reforms, I argue that Congress has expressed a judgment that all Americans should obtain minimum essential healthcare. Though this …
Bad Faith At Middle Age: Comments On The Principle Without A Name (Yet), Insurance Law, Contract Law, Specialness, Distinctiveness, And Difference, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Bad Faith At Middle Age: Comments On The Principle Without A Name (Yet), Insurance Law, Contract Law, Specialness, Distinctiveness, And Difference, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
In this article, Robert Jerry expounds on Professor Abraham's article on insurer liability for bad faith by pointing out that the concept of institutional bad faith is not a new phenomenon, but rather, one that is as old as the insurance industry itself Jerry focuses on Abraham's depiction of the "specialness" and "distinctiveness" of insurance, while exploring additional instances of "rotten to the core" systemic bad faith dating as far back as the nineteenth-century. Much like Abraham did in his article on bad faith, Jerry uses these examples of systemic bad faith to further his assertion that the insurance industry, …
Life, Health, And Disability Insurance: Understanding The Relationships, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Life, Health, And Disability Insurance: Understanding The Relationships, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This project focuses on the extent to which dis-ability insurers should be allowed to use genetic information in underwriting and rate-setting, but this subject cannot be completely isolated from the related questions of whether life and health insurers should also have this discretion. Federal and state laws place significant restrictions on insurers' use of genetic information in health insurance, but regulation of such use in life and disability insurance is considerably more modest. This essay examines the reasons for this disparity and discusses the implications for future proposals to regulate disability insurers' use of genetic information in underwriting and rate-set-ting. …
Regulating The Business Of Insurance: Federalism In An Age Of Difficult Risk, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Steven E. Roberts
Regulating The Business Of Insurance: Federalism In An Age Of Difficult Risk, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Steven E. Roberts
Faculty Publications
Natural disasters and terrorism events of a massive scale are "difficult risks." They are difficult (or, if large enough, impossible) to insure, and they present enormous risk-management challenges. Indeed, we are now in an era when difficult risks are the dominant feature of the risk-management landscape. These kinds of risks are inevitably multi-jurisdictional in nature, and managing them effectively requires a cohesive, comprehensive national catastrophe policy involving ex ante prevention and mitigation measures, effective risk allocation through insurance mechanisms, and ex post victim-compensation strategies. Although our nation is not yet close to establishing a much-needed and increasingly discussed national catastrophe …
Is Civil Authority Business Interruption Coverage A Soft Risk In The Post-9/11 World, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Is Civil Authority Business Interruption Coverage A Soft Risk In The Post-9/11 World, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
Tthe question whether 9/11 has changed the insurance world cannot be answered simply In some respects, nothing is different, but it is difficult to be sanguine about this assessment. Terrorism is less predictable in terms of magnitude and frequency of loss, and this raises doubts about the capacity of the industry with respect to future events. Until the uncertainty with respect to the terrorism risk abates and markets stabilize, problems of cost and availability will persist. This, of course, has been true in other insurance sectors in the past, and temporary dislocations do not necessarily justify government intervention. If, however, …
The Antitrust Implications Of Collaborative Standard Setting By Insurers Regarding The Use Of Genetic Information In Life Insurance Underwriting, Robert H. Jerry Ii
The Antitrust Implications Of Collaborative Standard Setting By Insurers Regarding The Use Of Genetic Information In Life Insurance Underwriting, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
The discussion in this Article is divided into four parts. Part I summarizes the landscape, past and present, with respect to insurer collaboration in underwriting. Part II considers whether, absent an antitrust exemption, multiinsurer agreements and collaborative insurer standard-setting with respect to underwriting violate federal antitrust law. This Part also evaluates whether insurers, to the extent potential federal liability exists, enjoy any kind of statutory or judicial exemption from federal law for such activities. Part III considers the same questions addressed in Part II but in the context of state antitrust laws. Because antitrust law, including the law of antitrust …
Insurance, Terrorism, And 9/11, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Insurance, Terrorism, And 9/11, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
The question of whether 9/11 has changed the insurance world cannot be answered simply. In some respects, nothing is different, but it is difficult to be sanguine about this assessment. Terrorism is less predictable in terms of magnitude and frequency of loss, and this raises doubts about the capacity of the industry with respect to future events. Until the uncertainty with respect to the terrorism risk abates and markets stabilize, problems of cost and availability will persist. This, of course, has been true in other insurance sectors in the past, and temporary dislocations do not necessarily justify government intervention. If, …
May Harvey Rest In Peace: Lakin V. Postal Life And Casualty Company, Robert H. Jerry Ii
May Harvey Rest In Peace: Lakin V. Postal Life And Casualty Company, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
More than a quarter-century has passed since I entered law school as a first-year student and began what has become a career of reading, among other things, cases. I cannot even guess the number of cases I have read in the ensuing years. Most of them have been fairly ordinary, but many have been wonderful for one reason or another. Because I hope to read at least as many cases during my next twenty-five years (or more) of legal study, I am not yet ready to crown any particular case with the title of "my favorite," "the most significant," or …
The Role Of Jury In Modern Malpractice Law, Philip G. Peters Jr.
The Role Of Jury In Modern Malpractice Law, Philip G. Peters Jr.
Faculty Publications
This article explores the policy issues raised by the choice between a custom-based standard of care and a jury-determined reasonability standard. The author examines not only traditional legal arguments but also the recent findings of cognitive psychology, jury performance studies, and health industry research. Not surprisingly, this analysis reveals that both options are imperfect. However, the author cautiously recommends the reasonable physician standard. The revolutionary transformation of the health care industry in last quarter of a century has transferred considerable power from physicians to the health insurance industry, an industry that has not yet earned the privilege of self-regulation. Unlike …
Insurance, Terrorism, And 9/11: Reflections On Three Threshold Questions, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Insurance, Terrorism, And 9/11: Reflections On Three Threshold Questions, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
For most of us, the collapse of the World Trade Center towers exists at the outermost edge of human comprehension. Even after one visits Ground Zero, the events of 9/11 retain a surreal quality, invoking feelings beyond words as one tries to contemplate losses immeasurable with numbers. Indeed, the insurance losses are insignificant when compared to the human tragedies caused by the terrorist attacks-and in insurance terms, we witnessed the most costly, complex events to transpire in a single day in the history of the planet. Many years will pass before all the insurance ramifications of 9/11 are sorted out.
Teaching Torts Without Insurance: A Second-Best Solution, David A. Fischer, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Teaching Torts Without Insurance: A Second-Best Solution, David A. Fischer, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
Teachers, scholars and practitioners have long appreciated the symbiotic relationship of torts and insurance. Indeed, the assertion that tort law and insurance law are intertwined is utterly unremarkable; many commentators have observed that tort law cannot be understood if the business of insurance and the law regulating it is ignored, and that insurance law cannot be understood if tort law is ignored. Several generations of law students have read casebooks, which in varying degrees pay homage to the connections between torts and insurance. Many law review articles and noteworthy books (or portions thereof) have plumbed the tort-insurance relationship. Although one …
Cybercoverage For Cyber-Risks: An Overview Of Insurers' Responses To The Perils Of E-Commerce, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Michele L. Mekel
Cybercoverage For Cyber-Risks: An Overview Of Insurers' Responses To The Perils Of E-Commerce, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Michele L. Mekel
Faculty Publications
With nearly seven percent of the world's population currently online and e-commerce forecast to hit $6.8 trillion by 2004, one need not be Nostradamus to predict that the Internet means great change for all industries - including the insurance industry. Presently, however, the proverbial cart is leading the horse as the insurance industry struggles to develop strategies to quantify, cover, and contain "cyber-risks." Policyholders also face new challenges as they confront the possibility that their traditional insurance coverages are woefully inadequate either to secure their electronic and intellectual property assets or to guard against their potential e-commerce liabilities to third …
The Insurer's Right To Reimbursement Of Defense Costs, Robert H. Jerry Ii
The Insurer's Right To Reimbursement Of Defense Costs, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This Article examines the theoretical justification for the insurer's asserted right to reimbursement of defense costs incurred in defending noncovered claims. Part I sketches some details about the duty to defend which are necessary prerequisites to exploring any claim to a right of reimbursement. Part II discusses the rationale offered by most courts and commentators for recognizing the right to reimbursement: under the law of restitution, the insurer who defends a noncovered claim bestows a benefit on the policyholder which, in justice, ought to be returned. This Part concludes that a reasoned argument can be made in support of the …
Insurance, Contract, And The Doctrine Of Reasonable Expectations, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Insurance, Contract, And The Doctrine Of Reasonable Expectations, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This article examines the connections between the doctrine of reasonable expectations and the law of contract. Judge Keeton urged in his 1970 article that protecting the insured's reasonable expectations is a better justification for results in many reported cases than the rationales offered by judges! Without disagreeing with that point, it can be claimed, as this article does, that insurance law's efforts to explain outcomes that contradict the plain language of contractual text are appropriately viewed as a subset of a larger effort to rationalize contract law with the challenges presented by the widespread use of standardized forms in consumer …
Consent, Contract, And The Responsibilities Of Insurance Defense Counsel, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Consent, Contract, And The Responsibilities Of Insurance Defense Counsel, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This paper examines some of the assumptions on which many contemporary assessments of defense counsel's relationship with the insurer and the policyholder rest, contends that some of the current turmoil in this area is traceable to shaky assumptions, and argues that the drafting of clearer liability insurance contracts would add stability to the relationships. Part I briefly describes the current uncertainty confronting policyholders and defense counsel. Part II explores what the most widely-used liability insurance contracts say about the responsibilities of insurance defense counsel, examining both the context in which these policies are sold and the texts themselves. It contends …
Health Insurance Coverage For High-Cost Health Care: Reflections On The Rainmaker, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Health Insurance Coverage For High-Cost Health Care: Reflections On The Rainmaker, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This article reflects upon the film "The Rainmaker" and analyzes how the health insurance coverage problems that it addresses take us to the vortex of some of the most difficult issues facing our nation's health care system.
Health Care Rationing And Disability Rights, Philip G. Peters Jr.
Health Care Rationing And Disability Rights, Philip G. Peters Jr.
Faculty Publications
This article explores the extent to which federal disability rights law limits the use of effectiveness criteria to allocate health care, either alone or as a part of cost-effectiveness analyses. To be more precise, it considers the circumstances in which disability-based classifications by health plans which would otherwise violate the anti-discrimination laws can be legally and ethically defended by proof that the excluded treatments are less effective than those which are provided. Part I introduces the expanding use of effectiveness analysis in health care, explains its discriminatory potential, and reviews the Oregon experience. Part II outlines the current federal law …
Statutory Prohibitions On The Negotiation Of Insurance Agent Commissions: Substantive Due Process Review Under State Constitutions, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Reginald L. Robinson
Statutory Prohibitions On The Negotiation Of Insurance Agent Commissions: Substantive Due Process Review Under State Constitutions, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Reginald L. Robinson
Faculty Publications
In Part I, this Article examines and categorizes the state statutes that prohibit an insurance agent from returning a portion of his commission for the sale of the policy to the consumer. Part II discusses substantive due process' in the state courts. After briefly summarizing the rise and fall of federal substantive due process, this part explores the use of state constitutions as independent constitutional authority in the area of economic regulation. This part concludes that two distinct models of substantive due process analysis exist in the state courts. Part III comments on two recent cases where the validity of …
New Developments In Kansas Insurance Law, Robert H. Jerry Ii
New Developments In Kansas Insurance Law, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
Since 1959 the Kansas Law Review has encouraged commentary on recent developments in Kansas insurance law. This article continues this tradition, examining developments that have occurred during the last five years.
Remedying Insurers' Bad Faith Contract Performance: A Reassessment, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Remedying Insurers' Bad Faith Contract Performance: A Reassessment, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
This article examines the implications of the differing remedies provided by tort and contract law. Part I describes the traditional major duties owed by an insurer to an insured and outlines the remedies currently provided in most jurisdictions for the breach of these duties. Part II gives special attention to the insurer's implied duty of good faith and fair dealing; it reviews the historical origins of the duty and describes the alternative ways to categorize it. Part III argues that the duty of good faith and fair dealing should be treated as a contract duty, but that courts should administer …
Justifying Unisex Insurance: Another Perspective, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Kyle B. Mansfield
Justifying Unisex Insurance: Another Perspective, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Kyle B. Mansfield
Faculty Publications
This Article contends that gender is an impermissible basis for calculating insurance premiums and payments. Although this Article agrees with the arguments of those who share this view, it offers a different justification for eliminating gender discrimination in insurance. Part I of this Article briefly reviews the status of existing restrictions on gender discrimination in insurance. Part II examines the issues involved in gender-based insurance rating from the perspective of both insurers and advocates of individual equality. Part III presents a new justification for unisex insurance.
Recent Developments In Kansas Insurance Law: A Survey, Some Analysis, And Some Suggestions, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Recent Developments In Kansas Insurance Law: A Survey, Some Analysis, And Some Suggestions, Robert H. Jerry Ii
Faculty Publications
For most of us the "small world" of insurance law, as it reflects and responds to changes in the "larger world," is also becoming increasingly complex. Part I of this article discusses cases involving questions of contract formation and termination; Part II concerns issues involving the performance of obligations arising out of the insurance contract; Part III studies several cases involving the construction and interpretation of contract language; Part IV is devoted solely to automobile insurance issues; finally, Part V discusses a few detached ideas.