Insurance Coverage Review
Most companies buy insurance once and never read the policy again, until a claim is denied. As outside general counsel, we review the company's coverage against its actual risks, handle the claims and tenders, and fight the carrier when it doesn't pay what the policy promised.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
4
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Insurance coverage attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle companies
Oseran Hahn reviews and manages the insurance program a company relies on: the annual coverage review against its real risks, the policy language that decides what is actually covered, the claims and tenders when a loss happens, and the disputes when a carrier denies or underpays. This is the risk-transfer side of being outside general counsel, kept aligned with the company's contracts. When a coverage dispute becomes litigation, the firm's insurance-coverage and trial groups take it.
Insurance only works if the coverage fits the risk and the claim is handled right, and most companies discover the gaps at the worst possible moment. We review the company's coverage against its actual exposures each year; we read the policies for the exclusions and gaps that matter; we handle the tenders and claims when a loss happens; we pursue the carrier when it wrongly denies or underpays; and we keep the insurance program aligned with the company's contracts.
Annual coverage review
A company's risks change faster than its insurance does, so we review the program against what the business actually faces, usually at renewal. That means looking at general liability, property, professional or errors-and-omissions, cyber, directors-and-officers, employment-practices, auto, and umbrella coverage together, and asking whether the limits, deductibles, and scope still match the company. Gaps and expensive overlaps are common, and the time to find them is before a loss, not when a claim lands against a policy that does not cover it.
Reading the policy: exclusions and gaps
The cover page of an insurance policy tells you very little; the exclusions and definitions tell you what you actually bought. We read the policies the way a carrier's coverage counsel will, flagging the exclusions that matter, prior-acts and intentional-acts exclusions, cyber sublimits, contractual-liability carve-outs, and the conditions that can void coverage if the company misses them. We also check that additional-insured status and the policy's terms line up with what the company's contracts require, so the coverage the company promised a counterparty actually exists.
Claims and tender
When a loss or a claim arrives, the tender often decides whether it is covered. We tender claims to the right carrier promptly, document the loss the way the policy requires, and meet the notice conditions an insurer will otherwise use to deny. Many matters implicate more than one policy, a lawsuit that triggers both general-liability and D&O coverage, for example, and coordinating those tenders rather than letting carriers point at each other is what gets the company defended. We manage the claim from first notice through resolution.
Coverage disputes
When a carrier denies, delays, or underpays, Washington gives policyholders real leverage. Beyond the coverage contract, an insurer that mishandles a claim can face bad-faith liability, exposure under the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (RCW 48.30.015), and the Olympic Steamship doctrine, which lets a policyholder recover its attorney fees when it has to sue to obtain coverage it was owed. We press those remedies for companies, and the firm's insurance-coverage and trial groups handle the litigation when a carrier will not pay.
Insurance and the contract program
Insurance and contracts are two halves of one risk-transfer system, and they only work when they match. We align the company's coverage with the indemnity and insurance requirements in its contracts, on both sides: making sure the company can actually meet the insurance obligations it signs up for, and that its vendors and counterparties carry the coverage and additional-insured status the company requires of them. We review certificates of insurance for what they do and do not prove, so a contractual insurance requirement is more than a line nobody checks.
Decades advising Pacific Northwest companies on insurance and pursuing the carriers who don't pay, with attorneys who read the policy before the loss and a trial group that enforces coverage when a carrier denies it. We treat insurance as the risk-transfer system it is, aligned with the company's contracts.
We read the policy before the loss.
Coverage problems are written into the policy long before the claim. We review your program against your real risks and flag the exclusions and gaps, so you're not surprised when you tender.
We tender to get paid.
How a claim is tendered often decides whether it's covered. We handle the tender, the documentation, and the notice conditions, and coordinate when more than one policy is in play.
We fight the carrier.
When an insurer denies, delays, or underpays, Washington gives policyholders strong tools. We use them, and the firm's trial group sues the carrier when that's what it takes.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Can you review our insurance program?
Yes, and it's worth doing annually at renewal. We review your general liability, property, professional, cyber, D&O, employment-practices, and umbrella coverage against the risks your business actually faces, and flag gaps, overlaps, and limits that no longer fit. The goal is to find the problems before a loss exposes them, not after a claim is denied.
How do we know if we're actually covered for something?
By reading the exclusions and definitions, not the cover page. We read your policies the way a carrier's coverage counsel would, flagging prior-acts and intentional-acts exclusions, cyber sublimits, and conditions that can void coverage. We tell you what's actually covered before you rely on it, and where the gaps are while there's still time to fix them at renewal.
We have a claim. What should we do first?
Tender it to the right carrier promptly and document the loss the way the policy requires, because a late or incomplete notice is the first thing an insurer uses to deny. Where a matter triggers more than one policy, the tenders need to be coordinated. We handle the tender and manage the claim so a covered loss actually gets paid.
Our carrier denied a claim we believe is covered. Do we have recourse?
Often, yes. Beyond the coverage contract, Washington lets policyholders pursue bad-faith claims, remedies under the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (RCW 48.30.015), and attorney fees under the Olympic Steamship doctrine when they have to sue to get coverage they were owed. We assess the denial and pursue those remedies, with the firm's trial group handling the litigation.
Our contracts require insurance. Does our coverage actually meet them?
Not always, which is a common and dangerous gap. We check that the company can actually meet the insurance and indemnity obligations it signs up for, and that vendors and counterparties carry the coverage and additional-insured status the company requires of them. We also read certificates of insurance for what they really prove, so a contractual requirement isn't just a line nobody verified.
When should we bring in coverage counsel?
At renewal to review the program, before signing a contract with significant insurance or indemnity requirements, when a claim arises and has to be tendered, and the moment a carrier denies or underpays. Reviewing coverage before a loss and handling the tender correctly are what determine whether the policy pays when you need it.
Recentarticles.
Annual coverage review, policy analysis, claims and tenders, coverage-dispute litigation, and insurance-contract alignment for Washington companies.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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