The duty to defend can be triggered by insurance policies and contractual indemnity provisions.

It is a well-known axiom that the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify under an insurance policy. However, less well known is that the duty to defend is typically no broader than the duty to indemnify for contractual obligations. Moreover, many cases resolve before the duty to indemnify is ever established. Accordingly, the duty to defend presents earlier and more often than the duty to indemnify.