Insurers investigate claims as a routine business function, and the resulting materials are generally discoverable. Once the focus shifts to anticipated litigation, subsequently created materials may qualify as work product.
Courts commonly look to the coverage decision or denial as the point of transition.
Alternative Names:
Insurer Work Product, Claim File Work Product
Why it Matters?
This is the central discovery fight in coverage and bad faith litigation, because the pre-transition portion of the file shows what the insurer knew and when. Carriers should assume ordinary-course materials will be produced and manage documentation accordingly, keeping evaluative and litigation-directed analysis separate from routine adjusting notes. Blanket work product designations over an entire claim file are routinely rejected.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
When does an insurer's file become work product?
Can an entire claim file be withheld as work product?
