The duty to defend is the insurer's contractual obligation to furnish and fund a defense to its policyholder. It is triggered by the allegations of the complaint measured against the policy language, and it applies whenever any claim in the suit is potentially covered, even if most claims are clearly outside coverage.
Because the standard is potential rather than actual coverage, the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify. An insurer may be required to defend a case for years and ultimately owe nothing on the judgment.
Alternative Names:
Defense Obligation
Why it Matters?
Defense obligations frequently exceed indemnity payments in long-tail complex litigation. Whether the duty attaches determines who controls counsel selection, who directs strategy, and whether defense costs erode the limits available to pay a settlement. Getting the trigger analysis wrong at the outset is one of the most expensive errors in insurance defense.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is the duty to defend broader than the duty to indemnify?
What happens if only one claim in the lawsuit is covered?
