SB 327 - Under this act, whenever a civil action is filed and an insurer may be obligated to provide a defense to such action or indemnity for any judgment rendered, the insurer shall have the right to intervene in such action and request the court to determine the extent of the it's coverage obligations, while reserving its rights with regard to providing coverage for the claims in the underlying civil action. If an insurer does intervene, the court shall finally determine the extent of coverage before proceeding with the merits of the underlying action. The judgment of the trial court as to coverage shall be immediately appealable, notwithstanding issues relating to the underlying action remaining unresolved. When a judgment on the issues of coverage becomes final, the insurer shall be dismissed from the underlying action. If the insurer previously has undertaken the defense of the person named as a defendant in the underlying action and the final judgment on the coverage issues determines that it has no obligation to provide such defense, it may withdraw such defense. This act is similar to SB 824 (2006) and SCS/HB 417 (2005).
STEPHEN WITTE