The Occurrence Limit of Liability Endorsement (“OLLE” and pronounced “Ollie”) is a hot topic right now in property insurance law as it is being included with increasing frequency in property insurance policies, and many...more
On September 13, 2023, the Third District Court of Appeal released its opinion in People’s Trust Insurance Company v. Banks. The opinion is a substitute opinion for the Court’s original opinion, which was issued on August 13,...more
In Clear Blue Specialty Insurance Co. v. TFS NY Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, interpreting the plain and unambiguous terms of a commercial general liability policy issued by Clear Blue...more
Additional insured disputes can sometimes get complicated. How much coverage the additional insured gets is often a hotly contested issue, especially when the named insured has coverage above the minimum limits it promised...more
One way a CGL insurer can narrow otherwise broad bodily injury and property damage coverage is by activity. Activities that face similar risk can be grouped using an activity classification code, which can be incorporated...more
Back in the day, additional insureds were oftentimes afforded coverage for liability “arising out of” the named insured’s work for the additional insured. When confronted with such language, courts often concluded that it...more
As a coverage attorney, I often find myself representing the liability insurers of both general contractors and subcontractors. When representing a carrier for a general contractor, one of the first questions the...more
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has provided construction project owners, developers, general contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, and vendors with a helpful reminder about obtaining...more
The answer to this question will depend upon the language of your policy. Most business interruption insurance policies, however, will have coverage language and exclusions that will make it unlikely for a COVID-19 claim to...more
Most businesses purchase some level of “business interruption” coverage as part of their commercial property insurance policies. But to what extent would this coverage apply in the event that a business suffers losses as a...more
A Maryland federal court recently weighed in on the still-murky world of insurance coverage for cybersecurity losses, finding replacement costs necessitated by a ransomware attack were “direct physical loss or damage” to a...more
Many businesses shift risk by requiring others with whom they do business – e.g., vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, and others – to procure insurance on their behalf by making the business an “additional insured” under the...more
New York High Court Finds No Additional Insured Coverage In Absence of Contractual Privity With Named Insured - It is a common practice in the insurance industry for a project owner to require the general contractor to...more
Commercial contracts often require the party with less bargaining power to procure insurance for the party with more bargaining power as a way to shift risk and potential liability. General Contractors often require a...more
Last weekend we played Speak-Out: Kids versus Parents, a game where you use a plastic thingy to obstruct your speech capabilities. The winning team is the one that guesses the most phrases. Reading and understanding an...more
We have noted, again and again, examples of disappointed Additional Insureds. Today we report that at least one Additional Insured has left the Courthouse smiling. It was, however, to paraphrase Wellington, a near-run...more
A California Court of Appeal has confirmed that additional insured endorsements (“AIE”) granting coverage for liability arising out of a named insured’s “ongoing operations,” and in effect during those “ongoing operations,”...more
We’ve chronicled some of the ways in which an “Additional Insured” can be disappointed. The most recent is from Pennsylvania, where the United States District Court Judge agreed with the Magistrate that the Additional...more
For the first time in a published opinion, a California appellate court directly addressed whether the ongoing operations limitation in additional insured endorsements (AIEs) precludes completed operations coverage. In Pulte...more
One of the principal points of contention between insurers and insureds is whether defective construction work is, or can be, an occurrence, thereby triggering coverage. Originally published in ConsensusDocs (Vol. 3,...more
D&O policies vary quite a bit from carrier to carrier, and language on “standard” exclusions can change from year to year. Accordingly, it is important to do a yearly review of your D&O policy to make sure your company has...more
The “additional insured” provision is one of the most critical provisions in a contract, yet is usually an afterthought. Contract negotiations over scope, schedule, and budget can and should demand your full attention, but...more
Parties structuring transactions or business relationships often attempt to shift risk to their counter-party by having such party included as an additional insured on the counter-party’s insurance policies. In the real...more
On September 15, 2016, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department found that an additional insured endorsement provided additional insured coverage only to the entity in direct contractual privity with...more
An opinion favorable to additional insureds came down last week from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. In John G. Davis Construction Corp. v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. 802-2014 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Oct. 28, 2015), the...more