Insurance Law

In plain, readable English, Attorneys Elias and Levinkind explain, with plenty of examples and instructions, how to:

*read and understand statues, regulations and cases
*evaluate cases for their value as precedent
*use all the basic tools of legal research
*practice what you've learned with "hands-on, feet-in" library exercises, as well as hypothetical research problems and solutions

This easy-to-use and understand book, now in its 12th edition, has been adopted as a text in many law schools and paralegal programs.

The premise of this book's organization is that insurance law is best understood if its legal principles are arranged according to the various stages in the life of a contract. Part A considers the question "what is insurance law." Part B considers issues germane to the establishment of the contractual relationship between insurer and insured. Part C considers issues relevant to the performance of contractual obligations. Finally, Part D examines a few topics that defy easy categorization, including special problems in group insurance, special issues in automobile insurance, and issues in reinsurance.

Among the features that made this casebook a success:

Coverage that focuses on the big picture of federal-state regulatory roles in addition to the traditional insurance coverage topics;

Extensive use of statutory materials, presented through problems;

Manageable assignments, most structured to contain one major case followed by informative notes and questions and a problem;

Interesting, well-edited, up-to-date cases on topics such as the World Trade Center attack, Katrina, and the latest Supreme Court decisions on punitive damages and employment-based insurance benefits;

A web site that features links to supplemental reading, updates, and other materials.

Revised and completely updated, the Second Edition:

Now organizes liability insurance coverage into separate units for different kinds of liability insurance and includes new units on auto and professional liability insurance;

Includes a new unit in the property insurance section on Katrina;

Moves regulation to the back of the text, reflecting the judgment that students appreciate and understand that topic best once they have learned about insurance through the traditional insurance coverage topics;

Simplifies and updates ERISA materials and incorporates them into the units on health and disability insurance so that students learn about ERISA in context;

Incorporates extensive feedback from satisfied adopters of the first edition.

Concise and problem-oriented, Insurance Law and Policy: Cases and Materials, Second Edition, is an excellent resource for those learning insurance law.

In this new volume, two lawyers debate which kind of automobile insurance is the best, no-fault or tort liability. This book presents in one place all the legal, political, historical, and financial arguments about the two types of auto insurance.

Under the fault system currently used by thirty-seven states, tort law provides that the party at fault in the accident pays the full damages of accident victims. Jerry J. Phillips favors this system, arguing that it allows for fair compensation to the injured and deters drivers from dangerous behavior on the road.

Stephen Chippendale counters this claim with the argument that tort-law based insurance combines high cost and low benefits, and that those who truly profit from it are the lawyers representing injured clients, while their claims clog up the court system. A better solution, he proposes, would be "Auto Choice," a plan under which consumers would choose whether or not they wished to be eligible for damages from pain and suffering.

With civility and respect, these two legal scholars present thoughtful and thorough arguments on both sides of the debate, giving readers a balanced view of an issue that affects nearly every American. It will be of particular value to those in the fields of law, policy, and insurance.