Litigation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Litigation

Litigation

As of June 30, 2024, we do not believe we are involved in any legal action that could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

In the ordinary course of conducting business, we are parties in various legal actions. Most are claims litigation involving our ten insurance subsidiaries (collectively referred to as "Insurance Subsidiaries") as (i) liability insurers defending or providing indemnity for third-party claims brought against our customers, (ii) insurers defending first-party coverage claims brought against them, or (iii) liability insurers seeking declaratory judgment on our insurance coverage obligations. We account for such activity by establishing unpaid loss and loss expense reserves. Considering potential losses and defense costs reserves, we expect that any potential ultimate liability for ordinary course claims litigation will not be material to our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

All our commercial property and businessowners' policies require direct physical loss of or damage to property by a covered cause of loss. All our standard lines commercial property and businessowners' policies also include or attach an exclusion that states all loss or property damage caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium, or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness, or disease is not a covered cause of loss ("Virus Exclusion"). Whether COVID-19-related contamination, the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting COVID-19-related government

shutdown orders cause physical loss of or damage to property is the subject of much public debate and first-party coverage litigation against some insurers, including us. The Virus Exclusion is also the subject of first-party coverage litigation against some insurers, including us. To date, insurers (including us) have prevailed in the majority of these suits, with most decisions holding that COVID-19 does not cause physical loss of or damage to property and the Virus Exclusion is valid. Nonetheless, these two matters continue to be litigated in trial courts, are subject to review by state and federal appellate courts, and their ultimate outcome cannot be assured.

From time to time, our Insurance Subsidiaries also are named as defendants in other legal actions, some asserting claims for substantial amounts. Plaintiffs may style these actions as class actions and seek judicial certification of a state or national class for allegations involving our business practices, such as improper medical provider reimbursement under workers compensation and personal and commercial automobile insurance policies or improper reimbursement for automobile parts. Similarly, our Insurance Subsidiaries can be named defendants in individual actions seeking extra-contractual damages, punitive damages, or penalties, often alleging bad faith in handling insurance claims. We believe that we have valid defenses to these allegations and account for such activity by establishing unpaid loss and loss expense reserves. Considering estimated losses and defense costs reserves, we expect that any potential ultimate liability for these other legal actions will not be material to our consolidated financial condition. Litigation outcomes are inherently unpredictable and the amounts sought in certain actions are large or indeterminate, so adverse outcomes could potentially have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations or cash flows in particular quarterly or annual periods.