Jennifer Welch

Practice Areas

Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith; Motor Vehicle Law; Premises Liability; Community Association Law

Career

Jennifer has over two decades of experience handling cases in state and federal courts throughout North Carolina. She has also represented clients in alternative dispute resolution proceedings such as mediation and arbitration.

She serves as Chair of the Cranfill Sumner’s Insurance Law & Coverage practice group. She is a member and former Chair of the Insurance Section Council of the North Carolina Bar Association. She is an active member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Insurance Coverage Committee and the Harmonie Group Coverage and Bad Faith Committee.

Publications

“The Last Line of Defense: The ISO Virus Exclusion Meets COVID-19 Business Interruption Suits,” DRI For The Defense Magazine (Dec. 2020) http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/?i=686748&article_id=3834334&view=articleBrowser

Co-authored NC portion of DRI Duty to Defend Compendium (2016)

“Insurance Bad Faith: Conduct Counts” – article for JD Supra (2013)

Co-authored NC portion of DRI Professional Liability Insurance Compendium (2012)

Experience

Jennifer has extensive experience with insurance coverage matters and bad faith litigation. She regularly advises clients on a wide array of insurance coverage issues involving both first-party and third-party coverages, including commercial general liability, auto, homeowners’, professional liability, environmental liability and property coverage. She represents insurers in declaratory judgment actions and bad faith litigation in both state and federal courts and also routinely handles cases involving serious personal injuries. Jennifer has particular interest and experience in handling uninsured and underinsured motorist claims and has an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of the laws governing such claims.

Work Highlights

Cases or matters referenced do not represent the lawyer’s entire record. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own merits. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or a law firm’s past results.

- Obtained dismissal of extra-contractual claims against insurer in first-party property lawsuit by insured.

- Obtained summary judgment for property owners association in lawsuit by homeowner over assessments and resulting lien.

- Secured declaratory judgment that insured was not entitled to underinsured motorist coverage where insured failed to provide advance written notice of settlement with at fault party.

- Obtained favorable decisions for insurers in COVID-19 business interruption coverage disputes.

- Obtained summary judgment in favor of underinsured motorist carrier in matter where plaintiff insured claimed he was entitled to $1,000,000 in UIM coverage due to insurer’s failure to obtain effective selection/rejection form from the named insured.

- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the defendant in a wrongful death action involving whether a property owner owed a legal duty to the employees of a contractor making improvements to the owner’s property.

- Obtained summary judgment for defendant insurance carrier in a matter involving a dispute in which plaintiff sought coverage under an excess workers’ compensation policy for an occurrence that took place outside of the policy period and therefore afforded no coverage for the subject loss.

- Obtained reimbursement for insurer in primary/excess declaratory judgment action.

Education

Awards