When you are sued, your insurance company must make one of three decisions about coverage: No, Yes, or Maybe.
No means you are on your own.
Yes means the insurer pays everything. Their lawyer controls the case because you are not at financial risk.
Maybe is the most dangerous answer.
With Maybe, your insurer sends a letter called a reservation of rights. It promises to pay for a lawyer to defend you — but it warns that the insurer may refuse to pay any settlement or judgment later. In other words, you could end up paying the bill yourself.
At that moment, your goals and your insurer’s goals are no longer the same. You want the insurer to pay. The insurer wants to pay nothing. That creates a conflict of interest.
The lawyer hired by the insurer must be loyal to you. But if that lawyer can shape the case in a way that helps the insurer deny coverage, the conflict is too serious. Then the insurer must pay for a different lawyer that you choose, called Cumis counsel.
You never have to accept a conflicted lawyer. No attorney may represent you without your consent.
What a Reservation of Rights Really Means
A reservation of rights almost always means:
Your insurer is looking for ways to avoid paying for your loss.
You and your insurer now have opposing financial interests.
You and the insurer’s lawyer (“panel counsel”) may also have conflicting interests.
Why ResRights.com Exists
To help you decide whether you can trust your insurer and its lawyer.
To help you require your insurer to pay — so you don’t have to.
What You Will Find Here
Plain-English explanations of California insurance law.
Practical guidance and model emails to help you protect yourself.
Tools to help you decide whether to keep or replace insurer-chosen lawyers.
Who Is Behind This Site
The author has spent decades studying reservation-of-rights practices and regularly writes and teaches on this subject.
Is This Site for You?
This site is for you if:
You have been sued;
You have liability insurance;
You received a reservation of rights letter;
Your insurer hired a lawyer for you.
If so, your future may be decided in rooms you never enter.
This site is about opening the doors.
Res Rights 