Insurance Law Research Guide
This guide provides a starting point for research in insurance law in the United States.
Introduction
This guide is intended as a starting point for research in insurance law at Georgetown Law Library. It includes both primary and secondary materials, in both print and electronic formats.
Lee R. Russ, Thomas F. Segalla & Steven Plitt, Couch on Insurance 3rd, KF1159.5 .C62
Available on Westlaw
This is the definitive multi-volume looseleaf treatise on insurance with forms, analysis and case law. Some of the major parts analyze the insurance contract, premiums, dividends and loans, risks and activities covered by an insurance policy and adjustment of disputed claims. It is continually updated with new looseleaf pages.
John F. Dobbyn, Insurance Law in a Nutshell (4th ed. 2003)
KF1164.3 D6
This study aid is an introduction to the fundamentals of insurance law. It covers topics such as insurable interest, risk, insurer defenses, waiver and estoppel, recovery, subrogation, reinsurance, and bonds.
Appleman on Insurance
Available on Lexis
This is a comprehensive and up-to-date treatise in the field of insurance law. It covers all aspects of insurance law, including personal insurance, casualty insurance, state funds, no fault insurance, commercial insurance bonds and liquidation. Leading cases from all jurisdictions are included. It analyzes each of the principal groupings of insurance contracts: personal, property, casualty, and commercial bonds, including matters common to all policies and it discusses many new types of insurance, such as franchise, credit life and disability, uninsured motorist and no-fault. It is updated annually.
Insurance Handbook, A Guide to Insurance: What it Does and How it Works HG8531 .I6
The Insurance Information Institute publishes this basic informational text on the various types of insurance. The detailed glossary with over 500 entries defines insurance terms regarding auto, home, life, annuities and long-term care products. Topical sections look at a myriad of issues, including credit scoring, earthquake risks, the liability system and medical malpractice and insurance regulation.
Case Law
This section lists and describes case law sources specific to insurance law. For information on case law research more generally, see the Library's Case Law Research Tutorial.
Lexis Federal and State Insurance Cases: Full text of selected federal and state insurance cases.
Westlaw Multistate Insurance Cases: This database contains "cases from the state courts of all 50 states and the District of Columbia that relate to rights and liabilities under insurance policies and the regulation of the insurance industry. Coverage varies by state."
CCH IntelliConnect Insurance Law Reports: Life, Health & Accident Cases: Provides full text of recent federal court opinions, organized by type of insurance. Also includes cases on disability insurance.
CCH IntelliConnect Insurance Law Reports: Personal and Commercial Liability Cases: Provides full text of recent federal court opinions, organized by type of insurance. Categories include: homeowners' insurance, commercial general liability insurance, legal and medical malpractice insurance, flood insurance, fire and casualty insurance, directors' and officers' liability insurance, and title insurance.
Statutes & Regulations
This section lists and describes statutory and regulatory law sources specific to insurance law. For information on statutory research more generally, see the Library's Statutory Research Tutorial.
Lexis State Codes, Constitutions, Court Rules & ALS, All- Selected Insurance Material: This database "contains the statutory codes, state constitutions, court rules and current year slip laws (advance legislative service), as applicable, from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Model Laws (available through Lexis): This database contains "every NAIC Model Law, Regulation and Guideline published." It contains references to legislative histories and case law for each model law, and is updated quarterly.
Westlaw Annotated Multistate Insurance Statutes: This database contains insurance statutes from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda.
Westlaw Insurance Regulations Suite: "Insurance Regulations Suite has insurance-related rules and regulations from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Code of Federal Regulations. Coverage varies by jurisdiction."
U.S. Code Annotated-Insurance (FIN-USCA) (available through Westlaw): This database contains sections of the U.S. Code Annotated which are relevant to the insurance industry and insurance policies.
Important Federal Statutes:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 12101 et seq.
- The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against disabled employees' use of employer-sponsored health insurance plans.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001 et seq.
- In addition to regulating retirement plans, ERISA also regulates employee benefits such as group life and health insurance.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 2601 et seq.
- The FMLA gives employees the right to maintain health insurance coverage while on leave for medical reasons or to take care of a family member.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 18001 et seq.
- The health care reform law passed in 2010 will eventually prohibit health insurance companies from denying coverage or claims on the basis of pre-existing conditions. It will also establish health insurance exchanges and will eventually require all Americans to maintain health insurance coverage.
Treatises and In-Depth Resources
Appleman on Insurance
Available on Lexis
This is a comprehensive and up-to-date treatise in the field of insurance law. It covers all aspects of insurance law, including personal insurance, casualty insurance, state funds, no fault insurance, commercial insurance bonds and liquidation. Leading cases from all jurisdictions are included. It analyzes each of the principal groupings of insurance contracts: personal, property, casualty, and commercial bonds, including matters common to all policies and it discusses many new types of insurance, such as franchise, credit life and disability, uninsured motorist and no-fault. It is updated annually.
Business Insurance Law and Practice Guide (available on Lexis)
This is a guide for insurance companies and attorneys who advise businesses. The guide covers many types of insurance, including directors' and officers' liability, property, fidelity bonds, title, employee benefits, business interruption, aviation, and reinsurance. Includes appendices of relevant statutes. Updated in 2010 to include recent federal and state court decisions.
Lee R. Russ, Thomas F. Segalla & Steven Plitt, Couch on Insurance 3rd, KF1159.5 .C62
Available on Westlaw
This is the definitive multi-volume looseleaf treatise on insurance with forms, analysis and case law. Some of the major parts analyze the insurance contract, premiums, dividends and loans, risks and activities covered by an insurance policy and adjustment of disputed claims. It is continually updated with new looseleaf pages.
Bradley W. Matthiesen, Gary L. Wickert, and Douglas W. Lehrer, Fundamentals of Insurance Coverage in All 50 States (2d ed. 2008) KF1164.M383
Provides an overview of statutory and case law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a special focus on environmental issues as they relate to insurance coverage.
Insurance Defense Form Finder (available through Westlaw):
This database contains forms from various federal and state form sets relating to insurance defense. States covered include, but are not limited to: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.
John F. Dobbyn, Insurance Law in a Nutshell (4th ed. 2003)
KF1164.3 D6
This study aid is an introduction to the fundamentals of insurance law. It covers topics such as insurable interest, risk, insurer defenses, waiver and estoppel, recovery, subrogation, reinsurance, and bonds.
Miller's Standard Insurance Policies Annotated
Available on Westlaw
The annotations in this database are a good source of case law that interprets specific provisions of insurance policies. Coverage includes all state and federal jurisdictions in the United States.
Hertram Harnett & Irving I. Lesnick, The Law of Life and Health Insurance.
Avialable on Lexis
This online treatise covers all aspects of the structure and regulation of the life and health insurance industry, including detailed analysis of insurable interests and the application and underwriting process. It includes extensive case citations, organized by fact pattern and state, and state-by-state surveys of prevailing law. It is updated regularly online.
Alan I. Widiss and Jeffrey E. Thomas, Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance
Available on Lexis
An overview of state statutes and case law regarding uninsured and underinsured motorists. Includes background information on the historical development of laws regarding uninsured motorists. Other topics covered include: mandatory coverage requirements in each state, the claims process, arbitration, coverage of hit and run claims, limitation of liability provisions, and litigation of insurance claims.
Westlaw Insurance Specialist: This database contains multiple treatises and law journals, including Couch on Insurance 3d, Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, Insurance Litigation Reporter, Law of Reinsurance, and Westlaw Journal Insurance Coverage.
Academic Journals and Newsletters
CCH IntelliConnect Insurance News Alerts: Provides summaries of recently decided cases, as well as recent legislative developments regarding insurance law.
HeinOnline Insurance Law Journals: This database contains articles from 12 insurance law journals, including Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, Defense Counsel Journal, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Insurance Counsel Journal, and Insurance Law Journal. To find this database in HeinOnline, go to Law Journal Library---Core U.S. Journals---Subject---Insurance.
Insurance Information Institute- Insurance Issues Update (available on Westlaw): A database of research papers covering major issues and current developments in the insurance industry. Covers property, casualty, life, and health insurance.
Lexis Full-Text Insurance Journals: This database contains full-text journal articles on a variety of insurance topics, including emerging issues and insurance industry news.
A few legal publications which we subscribe to on insurance law include:
- Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, 1995 - present
- Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin, on Lexis
- Journal of Risk and Insurance, Jan 1964 - present
To locate additional law review articles on insurance topics, you can conduct a keyword search in legal periodicals by consulting our research guide on Using Articles for Legal & Non-Legal Research.
News and Current Awareness
A blog about the reinsurance industry, written by Katherine Blackler, an editor at Reinsurance Magazine. Although this blog is based in the U.K., it also covers developments in the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, etc.
"Health Insurance Report provides news on the legal, legislative, and regulatory developments affecting the health insurance industry." Covers both federal and state laws and regulations. Updated weekly.
The Brief: A quarterly magazine published by the ABA's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Covers new developments in insurance law, as well as "practical, how-to advice on practice and litigation matters."
The insurance blog of the Hartford Courant, written by their insurance reporter, Matthew Sturdevant. This blog focuses on the Connecticut insurance industry.
This blog provides analysis of recent developments in insurance law for corporate policyholders. Written by attorneys at Howrey LLP.
Insurance Law & Litigation Week: This weekly newsletter provides updates on "court decisions, new filings and complaints, jury verdicts, out of court settlements, pending and enacted legislation, and current agency actions." Coverage includes most types of insurance, including health, life, title, commercial, auto, disability, and reinsurance.
This database includes articles on recent insurance law cases and legislative developments, written by experts in the field of insurance law. Updated regularly.
Covers recent court decisions, proposed legislation, compliance issues, and various other insurance-related topics. Written by legal practitioners and LexisNexis editors.
Mealey's Combined Insurance Reports
This collection of databases includes all of Mealey's reports on various types of insurance litigation (class actions, construction defects, disability insurance, bad faith, fraud, reinsurance, etc.). The reports include pending litigation, in addition to recently decided cases.
Published by the Center for Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute, this blog covers case law, new legislation, and recent publications on insurance law.
Westlaw Insurance Compliance Alerts: Summaries of recent developments in the law that may affect insurance compliance, such as statutes, regulations, court decisions, or Attorney General opinions.
Westlaw Topical Highlights- Insurance
This database contains "documents prepared by the West editorial staff that summarize recent developments in the law affecting insurance." Includes recent court decisions and "other legal activity of interest."
- FindLaw links to insurance law resources including web guides, news, cases, and law firm articles.
Insurance Information Institute
- This site provides a multitude of insurance and risk management resources.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- Provides a Consumer Information Center for filing and researching complaints against insurance companies, as well as Congressional testimony on insurance issues back to the 105th Congress.
National Conference of Insurance Legislators
- This organization is "dedicated to promoting sound insurance public policy" and includes Model Acts and resolutions organized by topic.
Revised 12/10(NKR)
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