This summer brought brutal heat and lunar-like haze from Canadian wildfires to wide swaths of the United States, while record-high marine temperatures promise a punishing tropical storm and hurricane season this fall. State and local governments have filed lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions seeking damages from fossil fuel companies for property damage and bodily injury resulting from climate change.

Leaving aside the significant causation and other legal challenges in the underlying lawsuits, another emerging question is whether liability insurers who sold coverage to fossil fuel producers for decades will be required to stand behind their insureds and provide the defense and indemnity coverage they promised.