context: The trial court concluded that Safety's failure to respond to Cinergy's letters that it sent prior to the filing of the lawsuit equated to a denial of Cinergy's claims, and thus, a waiver of Safety's right to arbitrate. However, "[mJere silence or inaction on the part of an insurer is not sufficient to constitute an express waiver." While we do not approve of Safety's failure to acknowledge Cinergy's letters, given the facts of this case, including the fact that Safety had issued excess umbrella policies that would not be implicated until after the primary and umbrella policies, we cannot conclude that Safety's silence equated to an express denial of coverage. Therefore, we must conclude that the trial court erred by concluding that Safety waived its right to arbitrate by failing to respond to Cinergy's letters.
citation_a.signal: see also
citation_a.identifier: 802 N.E.2d 910, 910
citation_a.parenthetical: holding that the issue of waiver requires an analysis of the specific facts in each case
citation_a.sentence: See, eg., Protective Ins., 428 N.E.2d at 661 (noting that "the failure of [the insurance company] to respond to the demand to defend letter is not evidence that [the insurance company] intended to waive its right to deny coverage"); see also MPACT, 802 N.E.2d at 910 (holding that the issue of waiver requires an analysis of the specific facts in each case).
citation_b.signal: see
citation_b.identifier: 428 N.E.2d 661, 661
citation_b.parenthetical: noting that "the failure of [the insurance company] to respond to the demand to defend letter is not evidence that [the insurance company] intended to waive its right to deny coverage"
citation_b.sentence: See, eg., Protective Ins., 428 N.E.2d at 661 (noting that "the failure of [the insurance company] to respond to the demand to defend letter is not evidence that [the insurance company] intended to waive its right to deny coverage"); see also MPACT, 802 N.E.2d at 910 (holding that the issue of waiver requires an analysis of the specific facts in each case).