This comprehensive Understanding treatise can be used as the primary course text or as a supplement to any insurance law casebook. Understanding Insurance Law is designed to make the substance of insurance law accessible to students and general practitioners who are unfamiliar with the subject. For nearly forty years, the previous editions have been widely quoted and cited as authoritative by both federal and state courts.

The book organizes insurance law under four major headings. Part A, which considers the question, "What is insurance law?," examines the nature of insurance policies, the industry that sells them, and how legislatures, courts, and agencies regulate them. Part B examines the law relevant to the establishment of the contractual relationship between insurer and insured and the scope of the obligations created. Part C considers issues relevant to the performance of the various duties and obligations in insurance contracts, including issues related to claim presentation in all lines of coverage plus the special obligations and issues that arise in liability insurance. Finally, Part D collects and examines some remaining topics of importance, including group insurance, special issues in automobile insurance, reinsurance, and excess and umbrella coverage.