Insurance

Achievements

Chambers USA – Texas (2019)

Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms”, published by Woodward/White, Inc. – Insurance Law, Metropolitan Tier Ranking (2020-2024)

Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms”, published by Woodward/White, Inc. – Litigation – Insurance, Metropolitan Tier Ranking (2023-2024)

Experience

  • Insurance Coverage Dispute

    Represented an oil and gas exploration and production company on claims for indemnity and breach of contract related to an explosion and fire at a well site. Munsch Hardt assisted in the defense and

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  • Insurance Coverage Dispute

    Represented the owner of a bucket truck company that services power lines in an insurance coverage dispute. The plaintiff was severely injured on the job and initially the bucket truck company’s two

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Overview

Munsch Hardt’s Insurance Recovery practice is driven by experienced and respected Insurance lawyers who are committed to solving problems for clients and maximizing their insurance investments. This group is called on before, during and after insurance triggering events to assess risk, facilitate prompt claims resolution, address coverage issues that may arise, and, if necessary, litigate insurance coverage and bad faith issues.

Whether handling company-critical coverage disputes, giving advice on various forms of captive insurance, assisting with risk management and insurance procurement issues in transactional settings, conducting due diligence or navigating representations and warranties coverage for a merger or acquisition, our attorneys possess the knowledge, experience and insight to guide you skillfully and cost-effectively through the challenging insurance minefield, helping its clients enforce their rights their  insurance policies.

We are active in assisting clients to obtain insurance recovery and protection from a wide-range of products and in numerous diverse industries - energy, construction, environmental, manufacturing, automotive, real estate, manufacturing, and more. This group prides itself on having diverse skills with which to resolve insurance conflicts. We realize that litigation is a critical skill set, but it is not always the most effective tool. Strategy, scholarship, negotiation, familiarity with the language of claims and an ability to identify the shortest distance between two points can achieve results that are more effective for most businesses. Handling insurance issues involving a variety of insurance products provides a depth of knowledge and experience that leads to creative solutions and recovery victories. We have worked with virtually every line or type of insurance product, including the following:

  • D & O insurance
  • Medicare fraud coverage, mortgage + other credit risk claims
  • Commercial general liability insurance
  • Non-subscriber plans + related liability coverage
  • Commercial automobile insurance
  • Owner-controlled insurance programs (OCIP) + contractor-controlled insurance programs (CCIP)
  • Commercial property insurance
  • Pollution legal liability coverages
  • Cyber insurance
     
  • Builder's risk insurance
     
  • Business interruption insurance
  • Professional liability insurance — primary and excess / umbrella, including (i) architects + engineers; (ii) Owners Protective Professional Indemnity Insurance (OPPI); (iii) project-specific professional liability; (iv) adjusters; (v) insurance agent errors + omissions; and (vi) medical professionals + health care providers
  • Aviation + maritime policies
  • Product recall insurance
  • Crime + fidelity insurance
  • Reinsurance
  • Employers liability insurance
  • Risk-retention group policies
  • Executive liability
  • Representation + warranties coverage
  • Fiduciary liability
  • Technology errors + omissions insurance
  • FLSA coverages
  • Self-insured retentions
  • Intellectual property coverages
  • Surplus lines insurance + coverage under Lloyd’s plans

Our attorneys also provide risk management analysis and assistance regarding the drafting of indemnity and insurance procurement provisions (particularly involving additional insured requirements). In addition, our Insurance group provides litigation management assistance in large loss cases involving complex liability and insurance coverage, as well as risk management issues.

The Munsch Hardt Insurance group includes recognized leaders in insurance law. Mike Huddleston is acknowledged in Woodward/White, Inc. Best Lawyers in America, Texas' Best Lawyers in Insurance Law (2006-2020) and "Lawyer of the Year" (2015, 2019); D Magazine Best Lawyers in Dallas in Insurance (2012-2019), a Band 1 "Top Ranked" Leaders in Their Field in Insurance - Texas by Chambers USA - Texas (2004-2019); the "Go-To Lawyer" in Insurance Law for Texas in 2012 as selected by Texas Lawyer News Magazine; a "Texas Trial Legend" for the Tort & Insurance Section of the Dallas Bar Association; and a member of the American College of Coverage and Extra-Contractual Counsel. Our attorneys are also active participants in statewide organizations devoted to insurance law, including one of the founding officers of the Insurance Section of the State Bar of Texas.

In addition to our pure insurance attorneys, our Firm offers a fully integrated team dedicated to developing specialized solutions for specific industries and policy types. These areas include:

Appellate

Munsch Hardt has a skilled Appellate Section that is actually experienced in insurance matters, something many firms cannot claim. With experience briefing and arguing before the Texas Supreme Court, the various state appellate courts and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Munsch Hardt Appellate Section adds value not only to the appeal of the insurance case, but also to the technically challenging job of properly charging and instructing the jury in these challenging cases. 

Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Insolvency

Recognized by Chambers USA since 2005, our Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Insolvency group has extensive experience representing all major constituencies in bankruptcy, restructuring and insolvency matters. We are adept at every facet of the bankruptcy and restructuring process, which allows our clients to better evaluate possible outcomes, develop strategies, assess risks and ultimately plan for the future.

Construction

Our Construction Section regularly must navigate the numerous insurance challenges presented in almost all construction litigation. Thus, our clients have the benefit of a team of Construction and Insurance Recovery lawyers knowledgeable about what claims or parts of claims are most likely to be covered and how they should be pursued to maximize recovery. In addition, these teams work closely together on risk management issues presented in complex construction contracts and related agreements, including consideration and implementation of owner-controlled insurance programs, contractor controlled insurance programs.

Environmental

Our experience encompasses coverage archaeology and reconstruction, claims notification, negotiation, claims management, litigation, policy procurement and negotiations, due diligence, insurance evaluations and alternative dispute resolution. The Firm provides expeditious and cost-effective resolution of environmental insurance coverage claims and litigation, even when faced with exclusions and lost policies. Our Superfund (CERCLA) experience provides valuable knowledge of technical issues necessary to prove coverage during applicable policy periods.

Health Care

The Health Care group works in tandem with the Insurance Recovery Group in seeking to obtain coverage for a number of vexing claims, including subpoenas and claims for Medicare fraud, FLSA claims and medical malpractice claims. Through the joint efforts of these groups, litigation of these claims is either directly handled or monitored by counsel the health care professional can trust and the vexing coverage issues raised by some carriers can be expeditiously handled.

Litigation

Our Litigation group provides a depth of experience that few Insurance Recovery Groups possess. For example, federal court can be a vexing place for many policyholders, but Munsch Hardt’s litigation group has lawyers with extensive experience in the federal system that often cannot be equaled by the opposing carrier. When litigation is the best approach to solving the coverage dispute, our insurance lawyers – backed by the deep bench of our renowned litigation practice—operate from a position of strength. The combined talents of the Litigation group and the Insurance Recovery group also have been often called upon to provide litigation management of complex, bet-the-company litigation, which has the additional wrinkle of insurance conflicts as well.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Our team of Mergers & Acquisitions attorneys regularly represents buyers, sellers and investors in connection with domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, asset and closed block transactions, joint ventures, mutual holding companies, spin-offs and recapitalizations. We also have experience with bulk reinsurance, loss portfolio transfers and renewal rights transactions, as well as broker/agency roll-ups and other acquisitions for insurance intermediaries and insurance industry service providers. The Insurance Recovery group is also often called on the assist with due diligence regarding liability exposures and existing insurance. The group has also aided with the use of representations and warranties coverage as a tool in the merger and acquisition field. The use of such coverage involves extensive knowledge of insurance and the interrelationship of the sale documents with the coverages.

Real Estate

Munsch Hardt has extensive experience in representing building owners, developers and contractors. The Insurance Recovery group works with the Real Estate Group lawyers in the drafting of insurance procurement, indemnity and other risk management devices, such as disclaimers and prospective releases. Real estate clients of the Firm have the benefit of also having the Insurance group available to assist in the making and handling of commercial property and general liability claims related to their businesses. Our attorneys are experienced in knowing where the risk allocation dollars are located and in prosecuting indemnity and insurance claims in order to capture those dollars for the benefit of the real estate client. Our insurance lawyers also provide advice to real estate clients regarding the selection of coverage for particular projects, including advice regarding OCIP’s and CCIP’s, and analysis of areas where there are insurance gaps, such as with professional liability, requiring the consideration of OPPI’s and project specific professional liability coverage.

Warranty

Fueled by the growth of warranty insurance, the market for transactional risk insurance products grew more than 200 percent over the past four years, rivaling cyber insurance for the fastest growing insurance market. Whether on behalf of buyers or sellers, we draft and negotiate the terms of warranty and other transaction liability policies to minimize our clients’ deal risk.