In a liability insurance policy, the insurance company has the duty and also the right to defend the insured. The cost involved in defending the insured does not affect the policy limits provided the policy does not state otherwise. This rule is useful because in many cases the defense costs are high when a judicial trail is involved. In some cases, the defense costs can be higher than the claim amount making the defense part of the policy more valuable. Defense costs can be higher than the claim amount particularly in nuisance cases. These are situations where a case is made against the insured party even though the liability is low. The coverage of a claim under a liability policy can vary based on the duty to defend or right to defend clause. Before buying a liability policy, one should know the difference between duty to defend and right to defend and the obligations of the insurer under each wording. Duty to defend Under the duty to defend provision in a liability in...