Insurance Recovery Advisor Newsletter Summer 2010

The following exerpts are part of the quarterly Insurance Recovery Advisor. This newsletter is provided to inform its readers of insurance coverage issues that may affect them or their business. The articles in the Insurance Recovery Advisor do not constitute legal advice or opinion. To read the entire articles, download full PDF newsletter here.

“Boss, We have a problem”: Guarding Against the Large Construction Loss

BY: MARK E. GOTTLIEB & DARIN J. MCMULLEN

While the United States economy struggles to recover, new construction will hopefully begin to increase. As new construction projects commence, contractors and sub-contractors should ensure they have adequate insurance coverage in the event of losses arising out of the construction. The first step is analyzing existing insurance policies and prospective coverage needs. However, contractors and subcontractors should also view their business partners and sub-contractors as sources of recovery in the event of a loss that is not covered, or not fully covered, under their own available insurance. Whether through contractual provisions that transfer risk or by requiring that they are named as additional insureds in their business partners’ policies, contractors and owners have the opportunity to obtain this additional layer of potential recovery.

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I didn’t know I had insurance coverage for that!

BY: MICHAEL CONLEY & MEGHAN K. FINNERTY

While every business person knows that their property insurance policy covers risks such as fire and their auto insurance policy covers vehicle accidents, your basic insurance program often provides coverage for a whole host of losses that may not be so widely known. Here are some examples of losses that would be covered under most business package insurance programs.

1.     If an employee takes cash, the theft from the company would be covered under a Crime Coverage policy, but did you know that other types of employee thefts, such as overstatement of hours in order to obtain overtime or inflating sales or production numbers to obtain a bonus, are also covered losses? Any time the company loses money because of the misconduct of an employee, the Crime Coverage should be reviewed to determine if the loss is covered by insurance.

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INSURANCE LAW UPDATE

BY: WILLIAM H. PILLSBURY

In D.R. Horton-Texas, Ltd. v. Markel International Insurance Company, Ltd., the Texas Supreme Court concluded that an insurance company may have a duty to indemnify even if the duty to defend never arises. In this case, D.R. Horton-Texas was a contractor who was sued for construction defects. The complaint did not mention the subcontractor who was negligent and was the policyholder. The trial court and court of appeals concluded that, because the complaint failed to mention the policyholder the duty to defend was not triggered and, as such, the duty to indemnify did not arise. The Texas Supreme Court overturned and concluded that the duty to indemnify was not contingent upon the duty to defend.

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