State Commerce Department reverses punitive damage exclusion position.(Tennessee)

Claims, November, 2004

A Tennessee regulation that disallowed exclusions for punitive damages in most property casualty insurance policy forms has been reversed 15 years after its enactment. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance recently issued a bulletin outlining the change.

According to the bulletin, the department no longer will disapprove policy forms filed with the department because they contain provisions excluding coverage for damages that are punitive, exemplary, or multiplied, or because they contain provisions limiting coverage to compensatory damages.

The change will benefit customers, especially businesses, by providing coverage choices, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. "Punitive damages can be a major cost...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.