In Alta California Regional Center v. Fremont Indemnity Co. (1994) 25 Cal.App.4th 455, the court explained the reason for the general rule is that, where the insurer denies all liability under the policy, the insured is misled into believing it would be futile to perform any affirmative obligation under the policy. In other words, the insurer is deemed to have waived the insured's failure to perform because the nonperformance is attributable to the insurer's conduct. (Id. at pp. 467-468.)