Time-Limited Demands for Policy Limits: The Response Mistake That Creates Uncapped Bad Faith Exposure

Philip W. Savrin, Partner | Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP

Phil Savrin leads Freeman Mathis & Gary’s Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith National Practice Section, with a practice centered on commercial insurance coverage issues and the litigation of extra-contractual claims. A founding member of the firm, he serves on its Executive Committee and is also the Practice Group Leader responsible for its National Appellate Advocacy practice section. He has testified as an expert on insurance coverage issues, and his writings were cited as authority by the Supreme Court of Georgia in World Harvest Church, Inc. v. GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company, 287 Ga. 149, 695 S.E.2d 6 (2010). He advises clients on matters in all 50 states and regularly appears as counsel in state and federal courts.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Savrin earned his J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law and his B.A. in Philosophy from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is admitted before the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Georgia, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He began his legal career as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, then clerked for The Honorable Harold L. Murphy of the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division, before entering private practice in 1990.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers and Partners USA Guide ranks Mr. Savrin in Band 1 for Georgia Insurance (2021–2026). He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2023–2027), including in the fields of Insurance Law, Litigation – Insurance, and Litigation – Municipal, has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star,” was named to Georgia Super Lawyers from 2011 to 2019, and has been designated a “Super Lawyer” by Georgia Trend Magazine for several years in a row.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Savrin’s writing on the duty to settle and extra-contractual exposure includes “The Evolving Duty to Settle: A Foundation Made of Shifting Sands” in the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association Law Journal and “Supreme Court of Georgia Upholds Bad Faith Damages for Failing to Offer Policy Limits” in Covered Events, along with For the Defense articles on splitting claims between coverage and defense and on the perils of defending without a reservation of rights. A regular speaker at continuing legal education seminars, he has taught programs including “Defending an Insured Without a Reservation of Rights” and “Reservations of Rights, Declaratory Judgments, and Waiver and Estoppel in Third Party Liability Actions.” He has served as Chair of the Governmental Liability Committee of the Defense Research Institute and as President of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and is a member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association.

• Experience

Mr. Savrin’s coverage and extra-contractual docket includes Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co. v. Brightman, 276 Ga. 683, 580 S.E.2d 519 (2004), Hoover v. Maxum Indemnity Co., 291 Ga. 402, 703 S.E.2d 413 (2012), Popham v. Landmark Am. Ins. Co., 340 Ga. App. 603, 798 S.E.2d 257 (2017), and Collegiate Licensing Co. v. American Casualty Co., 713 F.3d 71 (11th Cir. 2013), among reported decisions in Georgia’s appellate courts and the federal courts. His representative clients include The Hartford, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Nationwide Insurance Companies, Travelers Insurance Company, Scottsdale Insurance Company, and W.R. Berkley Companies. He has argued appeals in the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits and argued two cases involving constitutional principles in the Supreme Court of the United States, Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007), and Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 135 S.Ct. 2218 (2015).

Lisa Lampkin, Partner | Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP

Lisa Lampkin chairs Freeman Mathis & Gary’s National Insurance Coverage & Extra-Contractual Liability practice section and represents insurers nationwide in complex, multi-party coverage litigation with significant monetary and reputational exposure. Her current matters include challenging the validity and enforceability of a Morris agreement in Arizona that resulted in a $29 million consent judgment and an assignment of rights against the insurer. A Partner in the firm’s Phoenix and Los Angeles offices, she serves as Co-Chair of the Phoenix office and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Lampkin received her J.D. from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and her B.A. from the University of California, Irvine. She is admitted in Arizona and California state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the District of Arizona, the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California, and the District of Colorado, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers and Partners USA Guide recognizes Ms. Lampkin in California Insurance: Insurer, Band 3 (2024–2026). She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2025–2026), has been selected to Southern California Super Lawyers annually from 2014 through 2026, appeared on the Top 50 Women Southern California Super Lawyers list (2017–2018), and was named to Southern California Rising Stars from 2009 to 2013.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Lampkin has presented on settlement strategy and the interplay of defense and coverage interests, including “Outside the Box & Beyond the Norm: Innovative Approaches to Settlement Strategies” at the ALM PropertyCasualty360 Complex Claims & Litigation Forum and “Unraveling the Competing Interests of Defense and Coverage to Reach a Favorable Resolution” at the 2024 CLM Annual Conference. Her
publications include a 2024 CLM Magazine analysis of the Washington Supreme Court’s treatment of the resulting loss exception to the faulty workmanship exclusion. She is a member of CLM.

• Experience

Ms. Lampkin advises insurers on coverage issues arising under commercial general liability, professional liability, employers liability, aviation, excess, and umbrella policies, and is known for her ability to assess high-exposure claims and guide clients through strategic, practical, and cost-effective solutions. Her representative experience includes multi-claimant injury and wrongful death claims, coverage obligations arising from the January 7, 2025 Palisades Fire in California, nationwide sports-concussion class actions, opioid-related class actions, catastrophic fires, sex trafficking lawsuits filed in multiple jurisdictions, elder abuse and molestation matters, international aviation incidents, and product recall investigations. She has completed secondments in both the U.S. and London insurance markets, and her reported decisions include Continental Casualty Company v. Consolidated Graphics Inc., 646 F.3d 210 (5th Cir. 2011).

Matthew Boyer, Partner | Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP

Matt Boyer is often called on by his insurer clients to provide analysis and guidance on the evaluation of time-limited demands and the avoidance of bad faith, and he has defended those clients against bad faith claims in litigation in both state and federal courts. He serves as Vice-Chair of Freeman Mathis & Gary’s national Insurance Coverage & Extra-Contractual Liability practice section and as an Office Chair of the firm’s Atlanta office, working with clients throughout the claim-handling process — from coverage analysis and evaluations during claim investigations, to reservation of rights and coverage position letters, to declaratory judgment and contribution actions.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Boyer earned his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law and his B.B.A., cum laude, from the University of Georgia. He is admitted in Georgia. After law school, he spent two years clerking for The Honorable W. Brevard Hand, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama. He is a Major in the JAG Corps of the United States Air Force as a reservist and has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia, representing state agencies, officials, and employees in constitutional litigation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Boyer is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2024–2027) and has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer (2020, 2021, 2025) following five years as a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star (2015–2019).

Georgia Trend Magazine named him to its Legal Elite in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019, and he completed the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy in 2011.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Boyer’s teaching tracks his time-limited demand and bad faith practice, including “Comparing Time-Limited Demand Requirements in Massachusetts, Georgia, and California and Best Practices for Responding in Each Jurisdiction” (2021), “Bad Faith and Obligations to Excess Insurers” (2019), “Georgia Bad Faith Law and Recent Developments” (2015), and “UM Coverage in Georgia: Who Qualifies, Stacking, & Priority” (2019). He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

• Experience

Mr. Boyer advises and represents insurers in third-party and first-party coverage matters arising under commercial general liability, personal auto, business auto, umbrella, errors and omissions, professional liability, and property and crime policies, and regularly evaluates UM/UIM claims and defends insurers in the resulting litigation. An experienced trial attorney, he has tried multiple cases to verdict in all of Georgia’s federal districts and has represented clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Appearing pro hac vice, he obtained summary judgment for his client in Lawrimore v. Old Republic Ins. Co., a declaratory judgment action in the District of South Carolina concerning liability under South Carolina statute and the federal Motor Carrier Act.

Dustin Blumenthal, Partner | Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP

Dustin Blumenthal presented “Time Limit Demands – Now What? and You Said What? Managing a Claims File, Best Practices for Insurers, Claims Adjusters and Legal Professionals” in December 2025 and co-presented “Florida Claims Handling and Bad Faith – How to Continue to Avoid Bad Faith and Provide a Better Resolution for Your Insured and Your Company” in September 2024. A Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary’s Fort Lauderdale office and a member of the Insurance Coverage & Extra-Contractual Liability Practice Section, he frequently counsels Chief Claims Officers and other senior claims leadership on complex claims handling practices and serves as national monitoring counsel.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Blumenthal earned his J.D., cum laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He is admitted in Florida, New Jersey, and New York state courts.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Blumenthal is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2027) and has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Florida Rising Star (2016–2020) for his expertise in insurance coverage and litigation matters.

• Professional Involvement

His presentations concentrate on claims handling that withstands extra-contractual scrutiny, including “You Said What? How to Maintain a Claims File That Survives the Scrutiny of Extra-Contractual Litigation” at the 2019 CLM Annual Conference, “Good Faith Claims Handling: Recent Cases and Topics” (2020), “Navigating The Florida Civil Remedy Notice Statute and the Florida Construction Defect Statute” (2018), and “Disputes between Primary and Excess Insurers” (CLM Training Session, 2019). He is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, where he volunteers with the insurance law committee, as well as the Defense Research Institute and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

• Experience

Mr. Blumenthal focuses on litigating complex, high-value insurance coverage matters, including duty to defend and indemnify concerns arising under environmental, contractors, professional, and commercial general liability policies, and represents regional, national, and international carriers in both personal and commercial lines disputes. His reported decisions include Ryder Truck Rental v. Knight Specialty Ins. Co., 2026 WL 353256 (S.D. Fla., Feb. 9, 2026), Caskey v. State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 673 F. Supp. 3d 1280 (M.D. Fla. 2023), Heatsink USA, LLC v. State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 333 So. 3d 704 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022), and Evanston Ins. Co. v. Haven South Beach, LLC, 152 F. Supp. 3d 1370 (S.D. Fla. 2015).

Christian M. Gunneson, Partner | Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP

Christian Gunneson serves as Vice-Chair of Freeman Mathis & Gary’s Southeast Coverage practice team and represents domestic insurers and London syndicates in a variety of first- and third-party coverage disputes arising under errors and omissions, employment practices, automobile/UIM, residential and commercial property, commercial general liability, multiline, and manuscript forms. A Partner in the firm’s Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale offices, he regularly counsels clients throughout the claim handling process and has experience pursuing declaratory judgment and contribution actions.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Gunneson earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law and his B.A. from Providence College. He is admitted in Connecticut and Florida state courts and the U.S. District Courts for the District of Connecticut, the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida, and the District of Colorado. During law school, he served as a judicial extern to The Honorable Dominic J. Squatrito, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and to The Honorable Howard T. Owens, Jr., Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Gunneson received Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition for Insurance Law in Tampa (2023–2024), was named a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2016–2022, 2024–2026), and was certified as a Litigation Management Professional by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance in 2023.

• Professional Involvement

His recent programs address extra-contractual exposure and Southeast coverage law, including “Beyond the Policy – Preventing & Managing Extra-Contractual Claims” at the PLUS Conference (November 2025) and “FMG’s Annual Insurance Coverage Report 2025, Featuring Southeast States” webinar (February 2026). His publications include “Revisiting Koikos: The Eleventh Circuit re-interprets the word ‘occurrence’” (FMG BlogLine, 2025) and “Depositions and Discovery” in Florida Civil Practice Before Trial (16th ed.). He belongs to the Professional Liability Defense Federation, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, and the Employment Law and Business Law Sections of the Florida Bar.

• Experience

Mr. Gunneson’s results include persuading Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal to reverse an order granting a plaintiff’s motion to amend for punitive damages, obtaining a dismissal with prejudice of claims brought against an insurance agency by Florida’s “insurer of last resort,” and securing a complete dismissal of all claims in an arbitration for a third-party administrator of a self-funded ERISA plan facing upwards of $6 million in claimed damages. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the firm’s Restrictive Covenants practice team, represents management in labor and employment disputes, and regularly appears before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, the National Labor Relations Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Department of Labor.

SESSION 1 – Running the Safe Harbor Response to a Time-Limited Policy Limits Demand | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

This session covers the mechanics of responding to a time-limited policy limits demand (TLD) in a way that triggers statutory safe harbor protection or satisfies the equal-consideration standard at common law. Attorneys will examine the Georgia, California, and Florida statutory frameworks enacted between 2023 and 2024, the investigative and communication obligations that must be met within the demand window, and the specific response mistakes that convert a manageable claim into uncapped bad faith exposure. Attendees will leave able to triage an incoming TLD, structure a compliant response, and build a documented file that survives subsequent bad faith litigation.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Defending Bad Faith Failure-to-Settle Claims from Answer to Summary Judgment | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

This session covers the full litigation arc of defending an insurer or its counsel against a bad faith failure-to-settle claim, from drafting the answer through moving for summary judgment. Attorneys will learn how courts apply the objective reasonableness standard, which affirmative defenses survive dismissal and summary judgment, and how the claim file becomes the central exhibit at every stage. Attendees gain practical competencies in pleading strategy, discovery targeting, and framing the summary judgment motion to exploit causation gaps, procedural defects, and genuine-dispute arguments.