Find Lawyers in Denver, Colorado for Insurance Law
Practice Area Overview
Insurance policies sold to corporate policyholders protect against a wide variety of risks, including liability or loss resulting from: (i) allegedly defective products (including medical devices and pharmaceuticals), (ii) data breaches and other internet-related claims, (iii) mass torts, including exposure to harmful substances such as asbestos and silica, (iv) property damage and business interruption, (v) man-made and natural disasters, (vi) securities and business torts (often involving shareholder class actions and/or SEC investigations and enforcement actions), (vii) environmental damage, (viii) employment claims (including worker’s compensation and discrimination claims), (ix) professional liability, and (x) and crime/fraud. The major types of insurance policies purchased by corporate policyholders include general liability policies, directors and officers liability policies, fiduciary liability policies, employment practices liability policies, errors and omissions and professional liability policies, first-party property and business interruption policies, marine insurance, crime/fraud policies, workers compensation policies, environmental impairment policies, and a wide variety of specialty products (e.g., media policies, satellite launch and in-orbit insurance, product recall policies, cargo policies, product tampering policies, event cancellation coverage). Major markets for buying and selling insurance include the United States, London, Bermuda, and Europe.
Insurance programs sold to and purchased by corporate policyholders typically include several layers of insurance, with a primary insurance policy that often sits above a deductible (or self-insured retention) and with multiple layers of excess policies sitting above the primary policy. Large claims can often implicate coverage under dozens of policies sometimes spanning years or decades. In contrast, individual policyholders typically purchase life insurance, health insurance, disability and/or long-term care insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, automobile insurance, and sometimes specialty insurance, such as coverage for jewelry or works of art, travel insurance, etc.
Law firms provide clients with insurance coverage counseling and advice on a wide array of issues, ranging from assessments of coverage for particular losses and representation in coverage disputes to providing help with assembling a coverage portfolio and formulating favorable policy language when insurance is being purchased or renewed. Firms also advise clients regarding the insurance assets being transferred in corporate transactions, with tax planning in connection with insurance payments or recoveries, and with alternative underwriting programs, such as captive insurance entities.
Policyholders and insurers dealing with significant losses often call on outside coverage counsel for advice and assistance in pursuing coverage or responding to claims for coverage, as the case may be. In the event of a dispute over coverage for a particular claim, the insurer and insured may resort to litigation, arbitration, or mediation to resolve their differences. If the parties proceed to litigation, the case may proceed in either federal or state court, even though the substantive insurance law issues are decided as a matter of state law. Some insurance policies require the parties to resolve coverage disputes through either domestic or international arbitration. In recent years, an increasing number of large disputes have been resolved through international arbitration, often in London or Bermuda. In many cases, experienced coverage counsel can facilitate resolution of a coverage dispute without having to resort to the courts (or to arbitration). In other cases, settlement negotiations proceed on a parallel track while the litigation (or arbitration) moves forward.
Benedict Lenhart
Elliott Schulder
Deanna Wilcox
Covington & Burling
Mike works with clients to achieve optimal resolution of employment, insurance, and benefit plan disputes, and to develop practical preventive strategies. Focused on client objectives, Mike has led the defense of hundreds of cases brought against employers and insurers. He also counsels and defends clients in the ski and recreation industries. Mike’s employee benefits experience includes cases brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), involving pension and welfa...
A Denver native, Mr. Brooks’s practice concentrates on trial and appellate litigation in the areas of insurance bad faith defense, product liability, mass torts, insurance coverage, and construction defects. Mr. Brooks has been active in complex civil litigation on both the trial and appellate levels, particularly in product liability and insurance cases. His insurance practice concentrates on the representation of insurers in complex coverage and extra-contractual litigation arising ou...
Michael represents companies and individuals in complex business disputes involving government investigations, privacy, and cybersecurity. An experienced commercial litigator, Michael advises a wide range of businesses on how to avoid litigation and, when necessary, develops strategies designed to achieve their goals for a win. As a member of the firm's government investigations group, Michael focuses on both federal and state investigations. A former Denver Senior Deputy District Attorney, M...
Jack Englert draws on more than 30 years of experience to defend clients in litigation with extensive trial and appellate experience. For over fifteen years, Jack has specialized in ERISA and non-ERISA litigation, involving disability, life, and AD&D benefits. Jack is one of the leading ERISA defense lawyers in the Tenth Circuit, and also has litigated ERISA cases in the Ninth Circuit. Decisions in his cases at the appellate and district court level have played a significant role in the d...
Matt focuses exclusively on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation representing insurance companies. He has achieved an extensive track record of favorable outcomes in complex, high-exposure cases in state and federal courts across the nation. Through his skilled advocacy, Matt has created many important legal precedents in insurance law involving issues of first impression. For years, Matt has consistently been recognized by Chambers & Partners as a leading practitioner in insurance...
Andrew is a partner in the Trial Section and represents a wide variety of clients in a multitude of commercial disputes. Andrew’s practice focuses on corporate and limited liability company disputes, real estate developer disputes, employment law, and insurance coverage and recovery. Andrew has extensive deposition, mediation, and trial experience. Andrew has tried 13 jury trials and dozens of court trials in various jurisdictions throughout Colorado. Andrew advises his clients on risk ...
Garth A. Gersten is an attorney with Otteson Shapiro. He is currently the 2021 Vice-Chair of the Insurance Committee of the Colorado Bar Association and a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel. In his insurance coverage practice Mr. Gersten represents and advises policyholders in their disputes with insurers. He has litigated coverage and bad faith claims in the areas of construction defects, pollution, intellectual property claims, business interruption claims, underinsured and ...
Muliha's commercial and civil litigation practice encompasses a broad range, including defending both insurance companies and insureds in bad faith, personal and bodily injury claims, and construction defect. Muliha also practices in the area of employment law, providing both pre-litigation and litigation services. Additionally, Muliha has significant appellate experience at all levels and has drafted briefs for the United States Supreme Court, the Colorado Supreme Court, and Colorado Court o...
Bradley A. Levin, a shareholder in the Denver law firm Levin Sitcoff PC, focuses his practice on tort and commercial litigation, especially insurance bad faith and insurance coverage disputes. He has significant litigation and trial experience. Mr. Levin received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, with distinction, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and served as editor-in-chief of the Hastings Constitu...
Adam O’Brien is an AV-Preeminent rated attorney who has been recognized annually as a Rising Star in Colorado Super Lawyers since 2013. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, insurance litigation, and products liability. His commercial litigation practice includes representing businesses in commercial and construction litigation. Mr. O’Brien also represents product manufacturers and suppliers in all phases of product liability litigation. Mr. O’Brien’s ...
Litigation can be brutal. Too often, individuals and businesses suffer needlessly because lawyers insist on doing things "the same old way." Not with us. Not with Mike. Mike's trademark is his relentless pursuit of new and better answers. His hallmark is the recognition that better answers come only with understanding. Not just surface familiarity, but a true appreciation of your world. Mike takes the time to listen, to answer questions, and to ask questions. He doesn't just ask "where do you...
Joe provides clear strategies to his clients when they are faced with risk management and insurance coverage issues. Having worked in the insurance industry before becoming an attorney, Joe understands the nuances of the insurance industry, and he can guide clients through the complexities of insurance coverage and, where necessary, coverage litigation. He represents policyholders exclusively in a variety of insurance coverage cases. These cases include commercial general liability, commercia...
Stephen Shapiro is a partner with the firm. Mr. Shapiro’s practice is concentrated in commercial litigation, primarily with respect to the representation of policyholders, construction professionals, developers, financial institutions, and private and public business enterprises. A significant portion of Mr. Shapiro’s practice involves the pursuit and recovery of insurance benefits on behalf of policyholders, including construction-defect liability claims, professional liability c...
Mr. Shapiro is a trial attorney and a member of the Denver firm of Shapiro Winthers P.C. His broad range of trial experience includes personal injury, automobile/motorcycle litigation, professional liability/malpractice, bad faith, insurance and commercial litigation. The majority of his practice focuses on traumatic brain injury as well as spinal cord injuries. His work also embodies health care and risk management issues. He is rated “AV” by the nationally renowned publication, ...
Jeremy A. Sitcoff is a shareholder in the Denver law firm of Levin Sitcoff specializing in the areas of insurance bad faith, personal injury and commercial litigation. Mr. Sitcoff received his undergraduate degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and his Masters Degree from the University of Toronto. He is a 1997 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The John Marshall Law Review. He was a member of the 1997 Robert F. Wagner, Sr. Nat...
Nelson Waneka is a Colorado attorney specializing in insurance recovery. He has extensive experience litigating delayed and denied insurance claims on behalf of individuals, businesses, and community associations. He has obtained numerous seven-figure settlements and one of the largest jury verdicts in Douglas County in 2016--$4,742,048.02. He has been instrumental in shaping Colorado insurance law through appeals in both state and federal courts. He also serves as an expert witness on insura...
Zach Warzel dedicates his practice to representing injured clients in complex personal injury cases and policyholders in disputes with their insurers. Zach has successfully tried insurance bad faith and personal injury cases in Colorado, notably obtaining a $4.8 million jury verdict against a supplemental health insurance company and a $2.2 million jury verdict against a liability insurance carrier. He has also argued cases before the Colorado Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals fo...
Mr. Yarbrough’s practice areas focus on trucking and transportation, sports & recreation, motorsports, aviation, products liability, complex civil litigation, and general personal injury. Mr. Yarbrough has nearly 30 years of trial experience, and his practice includes defending complex pre-litigation and litigated matters throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and other states. He handles motorsports related matters nationwide. Mr. Yarbrough joined Hall & Evans in 2015 after ...
Since graduating from Boston University School of Law in 2009, Alyssa has dedicated her career to fierce client advocacy, whether representing low-income criminal defendants, navigating the route to citizenship for immigrants, championing domestic workers’ employment rights, or fighting for clients’ access to public benefits. Prior to joining Smith Jadin Johnson, Alyssa provided four years of litigation support to General Electric on a wide variety of matters. She brings considera...
William Healy’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, insurance defense, extra-contractual insurance defense, insurance coverage, and other civil matters. Before joining the firm, Mr. Healy clerked for the Honorable Jeffrey R. Pilkington, 1st Judicial District Court of Colorado, where he assisted in a wide-array of civil and criminal matters. Mr. Healy was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 2016. He is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District ...
Erica Payne focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and appeals. She has significant experience in a variety of fields including insurance bad faith, breach of contract, business disputes, and construction defect. She is a tenacious, empathetic, and prepared lawyer when advocating for her clients. Erica’s passion for mountain climbing and endurance running drives and informs her law practice. When presented with a challenge, she analyzes it from multiple angles and then attacks...
As a member of the Trial Section, Tanya focuses her practice on general commercial litigation. She handles all aspects of a case starting from initial assessment, discovery and depositions, through trial and everything in between. Tanya has experience defending discrimination and Section 1983 actions, negligence claims involving personal injury and property damage, and cases involving breaches of contract and business disputes. Prior to joining Moye White, Tanya worked at a regional firm wher...
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