The national Casualty Insurance Basics guide covers negligence, the elements of a liability claim, damages, and how liability policies respond. Alaska's casualty exam adds the state's definition of casualty insurance and one rule found almost nowhere else: liability policies must cover Civil Rule 82 attorney fees awarded against the insured.

What Alaska calls casualty insurance

AS 21.12.070(a) lists the kinds of casualty insurance:

• vehicle insurance (land vehicles, aircraft, and draft or riding animals, plus related liability)
• liability insurance
• workers' compensation
• burglary and theft, including loss of money and securities
• personal property floater
• glass
• boiler and machinery
• credit
• malpractice (professional liability)
• elevator insurance

The casualty line of authority covers legal liability and expressly includes surety (AS 21.27.115(4)). Surety insurance in Alaska includes fidelity coverage and contract and performance bonds (AS 21.12.080).

Fault and damages

• Alaska uses pure comparative fault (AS 09.17.060). A claimant's damages are reduced by the claimant's share of fault, and no percentage bars recovery.
• Application statements are representations, not warranties. A misstatement defeats recovery only if it was fraudulent, material, or would have changed the insurer's good-faith decision (AS 21.42.110).

Civil Rule 82: attorney fees

Under Alaska Civil Rule 82, the losing party in a civil lawsuit can be ordered to pay part of the winner's attorney fees. An insured who loses a liability suit may therefore owe the plaintiff's fees on top of damages. Alaska regulations make liability insurers cover that exposure:

• A policy under which the insurer has a right or duty to defend must cover Rule 82 attorney fees taxed against the insured (3 AAC 26.510).
• Defense within limits under $1,000,000: the added Rule 82 coverage must be at least the greater of the Rule 82 schedule amount applied to the limit, or $10,000.
• Defense within limits of $1,000,000 or more: Rule 82 coverage may sit within the limit.
• The insurer may not charge a separate premium for the required minimum Rule 82 coverage (3 AAC 26.540). It may charge for coverage above the minimum.
• A policy that limits Rule 82 coverage as the regulations allow must include a Civil Rule 82 policyholder notice (3 AAC 26.550).
• A defense-only policy need not cover Rule 82 fees (3 AAC 26.525).

Claims handling

Alaska's claim regulations (3 AAC 26.040-.070) apply to liability claims too:

An insurer dealing directly with an unrepresented claimant must give written notice of an expiring statute of limitations at least 60 days before it runs.

Common exam traps

• Boiler and machinery, glass, and malpractice are casualty lines in Alaska.
• The casualty line includes surety.
• Rule 82 coverage is required when the insurer defends, it can't carry a separate premium at the minimum level, and defense-only policies are exempt.
• The Rule 82 minimum is the schedule amount or $10,000, whichever is greater, for limits under $1 million.