Insurance Law

All successful teams have an overarching philosophy that drive their success. For Coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, it’s about “the process” – a consistent dedication to getting the small things right. For Bruce Springsteen (The Boss) and The E Street Band, it’s about “heart” - a collective with a professional code of honor. The 31st U.S. Marine Corps Commandant General Charles C. Krulak says, “Excellence doesn’t just happen. It must be forged, tested, and used. It must be passed down and woven into the very fabric of our soul until it becomes our nature.” At Maynard Nexsen, we have built a premier national team representing insurance companies in a variety of contexts throughout the country with a philosophy that is simply summarized, but difficult to duplicate.

Begin each matter with a plan for its end and know every inch of terrain between the two: removal, legal theories, case law, judge, jury instructions, appellate and regulatory climates. Focus on the details while maintaining momentum and insist on excellence as our touchstone at every turn. Outwork your opponent and remember the matter is yours to drive.

This philosophy has propelled Maynard Nexsen’s Insurance Practice from an Alabama only practice in the 1980s and early 1990s, to a primarily southeastern focused practice in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to a national practice today. Over the past five years, our Insurance Litigation Attorneys have appeared in state and federal courts in 45 states and U.S. territories, and handled appeals in nine federal circuits, routinely winning dispositive motions, trials, and appeals for clients in the most business-hostile venues. Our regulatory attorneys have advised insurers in all aspects of licensing, contract review, and administrative processes. They have counseled clients and prepared regulatory filings, company formations, reorganizations, and mergers and acquisitions of regulated entities in dozens of jurisdictions. All the while, focusing on our process.

Driven considerably by this work, Maynard Nexsen opened its first out-of-state office in San Francisco in 2014. This was followed by office openings in New York in 2016, D.C. in 2017, L.A. in 2018, Dallas and Nashville in 2019, Miami in 2020, Des Moines in 2021 and Austin in 2023.

"Life Insurance Client interviewed by Chambers USA "They have an incredible eye for technical detail and are a real partner in navigating your governance."

Our clients include life, health, disability, fidelity, property casualty, and title insurers, as well as issuers of annuities and other non-traditional insurance products. We regularly counsel our clients on all aspects of their businesses, from regulatory compliance to product development and corporate governance, to all types of litigation, including claims, coverage, bad faith, and class actions.

While that description tells you what we do, it doesn’t tell you how we do it and what to expect from Maynard Nexsen. Our attorneys have deep ties to the insurance industry. We have current members who have served in executive management at insurance companies in the past, and former members of our firm who currently serve in such roles. We are heavily invested in the leading insurance industry groups, including the Association of Life Insurers Counsel (ALIC), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC), and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Our involvement in these industry groups includes multiple lawyers in positions of leadership allowing us to stay in front of industry trends and regulatory changes.

Most importantly, we believe in providing clients with the same high-level service with every engagement. At the center of who we are is our collaborative relationships with our clients and providing proactive options in an environment where – like Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band - everyone brings their best.

Bruce Springsteen- "When it’s a good match along the way your heart is thrown in too. There is a love and respect at the center of everything we do together. It’s not just business, it’s personal. When you came to work with me, I had to be assured you would bring your heart. Heart sealed the deal. That’s why The E Street Band plays steamroller strong and undiminished 40 years in night after night."

We appreciate the achievements to this point, but we are focused on our philosophy. Day in and day out, we’re steamroller strong.

The passion and commitment the 45 lawyers in Maynard Nexsen’s Insurance Practice Group bring to matters translates to excellence, which has been recognized by several market leading rankings over the last five years:

• BTI Industry Power Rankings lists Maynard Nexsen as a “core, go-to firm” for the insurance industry, among the top 2% of all law firms, BTI Industry Power Rankings: The Law Firms with the Best Client Relationships
• BTI Client Service A-Team: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance – BTI describes recipients as “the firms delivering the absolute best client service rely on clearly stated Standards, measure performance, and are relentless in improving—no matter how good they are.”
• Benchmark Litigation ranks Maynard Nexsen as a Highly Recommended Firm for Litigation, including attorneys identified as Litigation Stars
• BTI Consulting Group recognizes Maynard Nexsen as a Litigation Powerhouse - top legal decision makers identify the firms best suited to meet their most pressing litigation needs
• Ranked by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® among the Best Law Firms and distinguished as a National Top Tier Firm in numerous litigation areas of practice, including Insurance Law
• BTI Consulting Group includes Maynard Nexsen among the 37 Law Firms Most Feared in Litigation
• Maynard Nexsen attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers in America^©, including Insurance Litigators

Our Team’s rankings and recognition are the result of over 30 years of hard work and success representing insurance carriers throughout the United States.

We serve as primary outside litigation counsel for Protective Life Insurance Company and as national trial counsel and class action counsel for AIG/American General. Our Attorneys have served as lead counsel in defending insurance and annuity-related class actions and multi-district litigation in state and federal courts in Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. We have also served as trial counsel in bad faith and punitive damages cases pending throughout the United States, including notorious “tort hell” venues in Alabama, California, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi South Florida, Texas, and West Virginia. We have defended banks, finance companies, and mortgage loan servicing companies in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts related to loan originations, loan servicing, collection practices, credit reporting, underwriting, mortgage insurance, flood insurance, forced-placed hazard insurance, foreclosures and redemptions, and virtually every other issue that arises in a financing transaction.

The insurance coverage/bad faith arena is where we excel. Our depth of knowledge goes beyond coverage advice. In keeping with our philosophy of high-level service for every engagement and working with clients to see the whole picture, we approach this work by asking what will this look like at trial? We are known for our abilities in this area and are frequently asked to jump in and take bad faith cases to trial even if the work did not originate with our firm. We bring a multi-faceted group of professionals to the table to look at every angle of a case, including analysis of coverage to prevent litigation in the future. If a company needs a shift in momentum or a fresh outlook on the narrative of their case, we look at it holistically and tell the client’s story effectively. We also have a world-class appellate group that understands the insurance world and the varied issues faced by clients.

Client interviewed by Chambers USA, "We could not have asked for a stronger team. They fulfilled all of our needs."

Businesses that operate on a national level need a national appellate strategy. In any given appeal, Maynard Nexsen’s Appellate Team will include not only appellate generalists who are trained to think about appeals in the same way generalist appellate judges do, but also specialists in whatever subject-matter is at issue—whether insurance related or some other area. As a matter of fact, over one-third of our insurance attorneys have held clerkships at the district, federal and Supreme Court level bringing their specialized knowledge and experience to bear on questions before the appellate court. Our Appellate Team is Chaired by John Neiman, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and Solicitor General of Alabama whom Chambers USA Litigation has rated a Tier 1 Appellate Attorney. Other Members of our group have successfully briefed and argued important appeals in high-stakes class actions and other complex cases throughout the country.

In addition to our litigation expertise, the Firm provides many of its clients with representation in all forms of corporate and regulatory matters. These activities typically include assistance in both the design and approval of insurance products, obtaining authorizations from state departments of insurance to transact insurance, and responding to regulatory enforcement actions and investigative requests. While our geographic location has served the group well in responding to clients’ needs in diverse venues and at substantial cost savings, we primarily attribute our success to adherence of our process and one of the Firm’s founding principles: To provide our clients with the best and most professional service of which we are capable, remembering that service to clients is the principal reason for a law firm’s existence.

Client Services:

• Class Action, Complex and MDL Litigation
• ERISA and Group Insurance Litigation
• Managed Care Litigation
• Coverage Disputes/Bad Faith Litigation
• Appellate Litigation
• Annuity Litigation
• Sales Practice Litigation
• Consumer/Commercial Financial Services Litigation
• Corporate Practice and Governmental Affairs
• Regulatory Compliance and Investigations

Related Practices

News

Maynard Nexsen has routinely served as national counsel for some of the nation's largest insurers in class actions filed in federal and state courts throughout the country. We have defended nationwide class actions in the recognized “tort hell“ hotspots such as Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi. Additionally, we have defended insurance-related class suits in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

We are a leading firm in the field of consumer and commercial financial services litigation, acting as counsel for banks, finance companies, and mortgage loan servicing companies in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts related to loan originations, loan servicing, collection practices, credit reporting, underwriting, mortgage insurance, flood insurance, forced-placed hazard insurance, foreclosures and redemptions, and virtually every other issue that arises in a financing transaction. The cases handled by Maynard Nexsen commonly include claims for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), and National Flood Insurance Act (NFIA), as well as various state statutory predatory lending and consumer protection laws. The Firm also has defended complex lender liability actions in which commercial borrowers allege interference with business relations, RICO violations, fraud and other allegedly tortious conduct.

The Firm has a long history of defending credit insurers in fraud, breach of contract, and bad faith claims arising from single premium insurance products including credit life and disability insurance, as well as GAP and IUI coverage. More recently, Maynard Nexsen has played a prominent role in the defense of numerous statewide and nationwide class actions pending in Minnesota, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Georgia involving the alleged failure to refund unearned premiums on various single premium products. In Dube v. North Central Life Insurance Co., the Firm secured a pre-certification dismissal of the case prior to the taking of any class-related discovery. Maynard Nexsen also served as lead counsel in the settlement of nationwide class actions arising from the unearned premium theory pending in the Circuit Court of Muscogee County, Georgia and Cleveland Ohio. The claims-made settlements were finally approved and administered.

Maynard Nexsen has represented insurers in dozens of states around the country in all stages of claims defense including skilled analysis and opinion of policies, pre-litigation strategy, motion practice and trial. The Firm regularly handles complex coverage matters in many different lines of coverage and has litigated and tried complex coverage cases involving numerous types of insurance policies and products including: automobile, commercial general liability, employment practices liability, errors and omissions, crime and fidelity, life, health, disability, directors and officers, property and casualty, environmental insurance, excess and umbrella, and reinsurance.

The firm has extensive experience representing insurers pursuing and defending declaratory judgment actions, subrogation claims, and bad faith suits in the context of property and casualty and related lines of insurance.

• Recently represented a national insurer who issued excess insurance policies to companies now seeking defense and indemnity for alleged environmental contamination. The cases involved the litigation of the duties of an excess insurance carrier, interpretation of both “sudden and accidental“ and “absolute“ pollution exclusions found in many commercial general liability policies and other such coverage issues that frequently arise in environmental coverage litigation
• Hired to try a multi-million dollar bad faith case in Oklahoma state court over GAP coverage on behalf of national insurer, ended in favorable settlement after motions in limine rulings and one day of trial testimony
• Hired to defend national insurer against multi-million dollar Fidelity/Crime coverage claims; won summary judgment and was affirmed on appeal to United States Court of Appeals
• Routinely handles UIM/Bad-Faith claims against national insurers

The firm routinely provides representation to clients in all forms of insurance-related corporate and governmental affairs matters. These activities typically include:

• Assistance in the design and approval of insurance and rate filings;
• Assistance in obtaining authorizations from state departments of insurance to transact insurance;
• Assistance in drafting legislation;
• Assistance in mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations of insurers and insurance holding company systems; and
• Representation in a variety of matters pending before or involving state departments of insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC")

The firm regularly represents insurance and financial service companies in connection with a broad range of government investigations, enforcement actions, corporate compliance matters, internal investigations, and criminal prosecutions. Our services include:

• Advice regarding the establishment, implementation and testing of corporate compliance and ethics programs;
• Assistance with investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by regulatory agencies such as the DOJ, SEC, FINRA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and numerous state insurance departments and other regulatory bodies;
• Assistance with responding to grand jury subpoenas, investigative demands, search warrants, and other investigative requests; and
• Assistance with internal investigations of potential regulatory or criminal violations perpetrated by employees, agents, competitors, or other third parties.