Companies in certain industries have years and even decades of experience in defending and resolving “long-tail” liabilities for suits, claims and other proceedings—such as for asbestos-related disease or environmental-related third-party property damage—that involve bodily injuries or property damage spanning multiple years arising out of their historical operations. Insureds who have…
Articles Posted in Bodily Injury
PFAS Enforcement and Liability Is on the Rise—Insurance Can Help
A key component of a company’s risk management function is to keep a close eye on new and developing sources of liability and to put in place appropriate insurance to respond in the event those liabilities ripen. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in legal and regulatory…
Changes Lie Ahead for Companies in the #METOO Era – A Good Insurance Program Should Be a Part of those Changes
America is facing a reckoning. Many brave individuals have stepped forward over the last several months to speak truth about sexual harassment and assault in workplaces, in entire industries, and even in Congress. For a very long time, companies dealt with sexual assault and harassment allegations quietly and in backrooms,…
New York Court Reads Additional Insured Provision Broadly in Favor of Owner and Contractor
In a previous blog post, we addressed blanket additional insured endorsements, and the circumstances under which Company A could become an additional insured under Company B’s policy, even where Company B failed to add Company A to the policy. In that same vein, a New York trial court granted additional…
Startups Beware: California Expands Workers’ Comp to Include Corporate Officers, Directors and Working Partners
The startup guys in the hit television series Silicon Valley might be surprised to learn that the California legislature has expanded the scope of mandatory Workers’ Comp coverage to include their corporate officers, directors and working partners. The new law, effective January 1, 2017, sweeps in a broad range of…
New York Court of Appeals Decision Undermines Additional Insured Coverage
We put lights on the front of trains so we can see them approaching in a tunnel. And we buy insurance for the accidents that occur despite such precautions. General contractors try to manage their project risks by taking precautions to avoid accidents, but they also require subcontractors to name…
The Time a Government Subcontractor Fell Off a Ladder … Right after Its Defense Base Act Insurance Lapsed
Imagine you are a prime contractor to a Department of the United States of America supplying logistical support for the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. As the prime, you are kicking on all cylinders, including purchasing comprehensive Employer’s Liability, Workers’ Compensation and Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance to cover your…
Buyer Beware: Some Policies Do Not Cover What You Think They Do
Barely removed from the Super Bowl, football fans have begun their long hibernation in anticipation of next season. But the Patriots’ incredible comeback reminds me that it coincided with the tenth anniversary of one of the great NFL coach rants, courtesy of the late Dennis Green of the Arizona Cardinals.…
Robot Take the Wheel: Insurance Implications of Autonomous Vehicles
The era of the self-driving car has arrived, with the shiny promise of fewer auto collisions—and the inevitable potholes of a transformative technology. Despite the significant concerns raised by a recent accident involving a driver’s reliance on a partially autonomous automatic braking and steering system on the Tesla Model S—one…
Is That Product Liability Claim Covered?
Matthew D. Stockwell recently published an article in the June 2016 edition of Claims magazine, a PropertyCasualty360 publication, titled “Is That Product Liability Claim Covered?” In the article, he discusses Commercial General Liability insurance policies and whether or not these policies cover claims of bodily injury and property damage.