Cincinnati Companies v. West American Insurance

The issue in this case is whether an insurer’s duty to defend its insured arises upon its receipt of actual notice of the suit against its insured, or whether the duty to defend is triggered only upon the insured’s tender of its defense to the insurer. The appellate court held that actual notice of the underlying claim was sufficient to trigger the duty to defend, regardless of whether the insured tendered its defense to the insurer, provided the insured did not knowingly forgo the insurer’s involvement. 287 Ill. App. 3d 505. We affirm the appellate court.

BACKGROUND

This insurance coverage…