I have previously warned of the need for vigilence in seeking indemnity cover from your own insurance company HERE.
Where you are the recipient of a claim, one way or another, you will find yourself, almost invariably, in litigation.
It is better that that litigation is only the proceedings taken against you. The alternative is that you find yourself in those proceedings and a new second set of proceedings in which you are the plaintiff and “your” erstwhile insurer is the defendant.
This can come about because your insurer declines to indemnify you for some alleged failure On your part as happened HERE.
Of course you could compound your difficulties yourself by failing to press your claim to indemnity in arbitration, as happened HERE.
The plaintiffs in these proceedings knew of a claim against them not later than 5th December, 2002. Their insurer knew of the claim prior to 20th March, 2003. It declined to indemnify. Only by letter dated 22nd December, 2005 did the plaintiffs attempt to refer the failure of the insurer to indemnify them to arbitration. In the letter the claimants’ solicitors informed the respondent that the claimants would be invoking the arbitration clause in the policy, nominated three persons who might act as arbitrator and enclosed a draft submission to arbitration.
Under the policy, the insured had one year to invoke the arbitration clause, whereupon the claim was deemed to have been abandoned. In the case the plaintiffs were very late.
The court extended the time to refer the matter to arbitration but subject to:
…the applicant will be responsible for the costs of this motion and will also be responsible for the costs of the arbitration even if successful therein.”
If you must shoot yourself, be sure to shoot yourself in the most painful part of your anatomy!