Insurance

A subcontract required the second-tier sub to include the project owner and general contractor as additional insured parties. But the second-tier sub’s insurance policy had a “privity endorsement,” which allows additional insured status only fo… Read More

Decisions in two separate courts have come to the same conclusion: additional insured status can be conferred via (1) a contract – which was a lease, in each of these cases – requiring Party A to be designated as an additional insured on Party B�… Read More

At first blush this seems simple: “defend” does not mean “prosecute.” But there is a split among jurisdictions as to whether the insurer’s duty to defend includes the duty to pursue a counterclaim that is factually intertwined with the defe… Read More

The NY Court of Appeals, construing language of an insurance endorsement, has held that the endorsement terms established a proximate cause standard. In the process, the court reiterated that a proximate cause standard is narrower than the phrase “… Read More

File this one under “Oops.” The unsigned contract meant that the contractual liability exclusion in the subcontractor’s insurance policy would control, since there was no obligation “assumed in a contract or agreement . . . [where the claim]… Read More

The sad part about decisions abrogating insurance coverage, based on misrepresentations by the insurance applicant, is that innocent third parties often suffer from the lack of coverage. A recent Pennsylvania decision provides one more example. The J… Read More

Contractor lent a vehicle to a sub, and the sub’s employee caused a fatal accident. The subcontract had an indemnity in favor of the contractor. Five insurance policies were in play: (1) sub’s auto policy, (2) sub’s GL, (3) sub’s umbrella, (4… Read More

Per a federal court, a GL exclusion that refers to a “wrap-up” is ambiguous, so the carrier’s request for summary judgment against coverage was denied, and the plaintiffs’ corresponding request to establish coverage was allowed. The underlyin… Read More