Opinion ID: 1925717
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Consequence of Merger with the named insured

Text: An established principle of Delaware insurance law is that an insured is determined by the terms of the insurance policy. [6] This doctrine is of little help, however, when determining who the General Assembly intended to include as an insured when drafting the Delaware Insurance Guaranty Association Act. [7] The only guidance provided is that the statute shall be liberally construed to effect the purpose... of th[e] title .... [8] And, that the purpose of the title is to provide a mechanism for the payment of covered claims under certain insurance policies to avoid excessive delay in payment [and] ... financial loss to claimants ... because of the insolvency of an insurer .... [9] With the General Assembly's stated purpose in mind, we must determine whether our legislature intended that the term insured include a successor in interest to the original insured by way of merger when the successor retains an insurable interest in an insurance policy, or whether the legislature intended the parties to an insurance policy to define insured in the policy in a way that would limit the scope of the impact of the enunciated statutory public policy. [10]