Presentation: “What Every Litigator Should Know About Insurance Tenders of Defense and Indemnity” by Angelia Wesch, Partner, Smith Currie Oles

Tendering claims and lawsuits triggers important common law and statutory duties of Insurers under Washington Law including the Duty to Defend and the Duty to Indemnify. An insurer who fails to timely respond to tenders of defense and indemnity does so at their peril, potentially triggering extra contractual causes of action against insurers including: (1) common law bad faith (2) common law negligence (3) violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and (4) violation of Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”). An insured who is compelled to pursue legal action to gain the benefits of an insurance contract is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees under Olympic S.S. v. Centennial Ins. Co. While each of these topics warrants its own separate presentation, this presentation will help answer the questions of when to tender a claim to an insurer, and what rights inure to an insured when an insurer fails to timely respond to a tender.