California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Murphy v. Allstate Ins. Co., 132 Cal.Rptr. 424, 17 Cal.3d 937, 553 P.2d 584 (Cal. 1976):
The duty to settle is implied in law to protect the insured from exposure to liability in excess of coverage as a result of the insurer's gamble--on which only the insured might lose. (See Shapero v. Allstate Insurance Co. (1971) 14 Cal.App.3d 433, 92 Cal.Rptr. 244.)
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