“Arising Out Of” Exclusions in Missouri Insurance Policies: Court Bars Coverage for Opioid Marketing Claims
In Opioid Master Disbursement Trust II a/k/a Opioid MDT II v. ACE American Insurance, et al., ED113635 (Mo. App. E.D. July 21, 2026), the Missouri Court of Appeals addressed an important coverage issue arising out of the opioid litigation wave: whether…
Missouri Hearsay Objections in Insurance-Formation Cases: When the Statement Is the Evidence, Not Hearsay
Missouri insurance cases often turn on conversations: what the insured told the agent, what the agent asked, what the agent said the policy would do, what information was reported to the carrier, and what everyone understood at the time the policy was…
Mistaken Settlement Acceptance in Missouri: Rescission, Reformation, Waiver, and Release Problems for Lawyers
Part Two: What Missouri lawyers should do when a settlement acceptance was mistaken, incomplete, or followed by a disputed release I. Mistakes in Acceptance: Can a Party Escape a Settlement Agreement? One recurring issue in Missouri settlement…
Missouri Settlement Demands and the Mirror Image Rule: A Practical Guide for Lawyers
Part One: How Missouri lawyers should analyze offer, acceptance, counteroffers, and release terms in liability insurance settlement practice I. Introduction Settlement agreements are contracts. That statement sounds elementary, but its implications…
Process Is Proof: Claims-Handling Discovery in Missouri First-Party UM/UIM Cases
Why the insurer’s “we just valued it differently” defense rarely survives a record built piece by piece. The most effective tactic the defense has in a first-party uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) case is not about the wreck or the medicine.…
Five Misconceptions About Missouri Insurance Law That Cost Practitioners Cases
Introduction Insurance coverage litigation in Missouri is governed by a body of statutory and common law that is, in its broad outlines, familiar to most civil practitioners. The duty to defend, the duty to indemnify, the vexatious refusal statute, the…
An Insurance Agent’s Role:
Agency, Authority, and the Duty to Transmit Premiums Under Missouri Law Key Takeaways I. Introduction When a Missouri consumer walks into an office with an insurance company’s name on the door, hands over a premium check, and walks out expecting…
The Eight Corners Rule Plus in Missouri: When the Duty to Defend Arises
How Missouri courts determine whether an insurer must defend its insured — the comparison test, the three-part Allen v. Bryers standard, the low threshold for triggering the duty, and the consequences of a wrongful refusal Missouri Injury & Insurance…
Reading a Missouri Liability Policy: Declarations, Insuring Agreements, Exclusions, and Conditions
A practitioner’s guide to the structure of a standard liability insurance policy — what each component does, how the components interact, and how to read a policy to evaluate coverage and identify disputes Missouri Injury & Insurance…
What Is a Reservation of Rights and Why Does It Matter
A guide to the reservation of rights in the third-party liability context — what it is, what it must contain, the conflict of interest it creates, the insured’s right to refuse, the right to independent counsel, and its role in the bad faith and §…