MO SB617

Allows insurers to issue written reservations of rights within 60 days of receiving notice of a claim and becoming aware of a coverage basis, with reasonable specificity required.

Specifies that communicating a reservation of rights, offering or providing defense subject to reservation, or declining to withdraw a reservation shall not constitute breach of duty owed to the insured and rejects prior Missouri case law holdings to the contrary.

Limits insurer liability for breach of duty to defend to policy limits plus reasonable attorney fees and statutory court costs, absent a final adjudication of bad faith, and rejects prior case law allowing damages exceeding policy limits.

Grants insurers an unconditional right to intervene in any lawsuit where they offer or provide a defense to the insured.

Modifies garnishment procedures for insurance contracts by requiring judgment creditors to prove judgments resulted from contested adversarial proceedings and giving insurers a right to jury trial on damages if coverage applies but adversarial proceeding requirement is not met.