Case reserves are an insurer's internal estimate of a claim's ultimate cost, set for accounting and regulatory purposes. Plaintiffs seek them as evidence of the insurer's own valuation.
Discoverability varies substantially and is frequently denied in the underlying case.
Alternative Names:
Reserve Information Discovery, Claim Reserve Discovery
Why it Matters?
The defense position is that reserves are set under accounting and regulatory standards that require conservative estimation, not as an assessment of liability, and that they reflect worst-case exposure rather than expected outcome. Most courts deny reserve discovery in the underlying case while permitting it in bad faith litigation where the insurer's evaluation is directly at issue. That distinction is why bifurcation matters so much to carriers.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Are reserves discoverable?
What is the defense rationale?
