Insurer Ordered to Produce Reinsurance Communications in Ill. Federal Coverage Dispute

CHICAGO — An insurer may not withhold reinsurance communications in a fire coverage action based upon the insurer-insured privilege because it admitted that its reinsurer has no duty to defend, an Illinois federal magistrate judge has ruled.

In a Sept. 27 order, Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered Chubb National Insurance Co. to produce the communications.

Wesley Gibson’s Carbondale, Ill., home was insured under a policy issued by Chubb. On Oct. 22, 2019, the house was struck by lightning and caught on fire, destroying the house and its contents.