WASHINGTON FEDERAL COURT FINDS THAT STATUTORY NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE “CLAIM” UNDER CLAIMS-MADE POLICY

Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2018

Liability insurance policies can provide coverage on a “claims-made” basis, meaning it generally only covers claims that are first made against the insured during the policy period. A common coverage issue that arises under these policies is when was the “claim” first made, and whether a pre-suit notice to the insured constitutes a “claim.” Though a Washington court had previously held in National Union Fire Insurance Co. v. Zillow, Inc., No. C16-146IJLR, 2017 WL 1354147 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 13, 2017) that a pre-suit demand to remove certain copyrighted images constituted a “claim” under a claims-made policy, no Washington court had previously decided whether a statutory pre-suit notice of an intent to file suit constituted a “claim.”

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