Cincinnati Indemnity Co. v. Martin

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J.

The issue certified for our review is “whether an insurer has a duty to indemnify and/or defend a homeowner/policyholder against a wrongful death claim by a non-household member wrongful death beneficiary who is not an ‘insured’ under the policy when the death involved is that of an ‘insured’ under the policy.” For the reasons that follow, we answer the certified issue in the negative and affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.

It is axiomatic that an insurer may maintain a declaratory judgment action to determine its rights and obligations under a contract of…