In his January 2019 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column, Michael “Mickey” Passman examines a recent federal decision confirming the rule that the insured has the burden of demonstrating coverage. 

In Reimer v. Foremost Insurance Group, insureds’ mobile homes were insured from September 6, 2016 through September 6, 2017. The insureds sued their insurance company, alleging that the mobile homes were damaged in 2016 and 2017, and that the damages were covered by the insurance. The insurer moved to dismiss. The federal court concluded that the insureds’ allegation that the homes were damages in 2016 and 2017 failed to satisfy the insureds’ burden to allege a covered claim, since the damage could have occurred at the beginning of 2016 or the end of 2017, entirely outside the policy period, in which case the insurer would have no responsibility for the damage. Because the insureds failed to allege a covered claim, the court dismissed the insureds’ pleading but gave them an opportunity to replead. 

The full article from the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education will be available here for a limited time.