Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Under Construction and Remodeling, Inc.

Defendant was allegedly injured while working for his employer and filed a workers' compensation claim. Plaintiff, the employer's workers' compensation insurer, contacted employer for information about the claim, but employer failed to respond. Insurer filed declaratory judgment action, claiming that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify employer because it had breached the policy's cooperation clause. Record does not show as a matter of law that Plaintiff exercised reasonable diligence in seeking employer's participation or that employer willfully refused to participate in investigation. Plaintiff did nothing to discover alternative methods of contacting employer, and its rote efforts to reach employer were not sufficient to show Plaintiff's diligence or that employer willfully refused to cooperate. (McBRIDE and BURKE, concurring.)