Insurers: Duties
| Wiard v. Liberty Northwest Ins. Corp., 2003 MT 295 Neither contract principle of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, nor Unfair Trade Practices Act, required insurer to inform claimant of 60-month rule contained in section 39-71-704(1)(d), MCA (1991), regarding using or losing medical benefits. |
| Hernandez v. ACE USA [4/24/03] 2003 MTWCC 32 By giving its insured veto power over settlements, the insurer violated section 39-71-2203(3), MCA (2001), which provides that insurers owe a direct duty to claimants to pay benefits. |
| Hernandez v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh [1/31/03] 2003 MTWCC 5 Workers' compensation insurers are directly liable to claimants and have direct duty to claiman's when adjusting claims. Insurers cannot delegate their duties to insured employers. |
| Gryttenholm v. Fremont Industrial Ins. [4/19/02] 2002 MTWCC 24 Insurers have a duty to accurately inform claimants of the nature and purpose of any medical examination arranged by the insurer, as well as the specialty of the examiner. Failure to properly inform a claimant of those matters may result in the Court excluding evidence regarding the examination and the opinions of the examiner. |
| Alocco v. CIGNA [12/06/00] 2000 MTWCC 74 Where the insurer denies liability for medical services and claimant pays for those services, in whole or in part, and the insurer is later found liable for the services, the insurer has a duty to assist claimant in seeking repayment from the medical providers. |