Insurance Online : Additional Insured Prevails on Summary Judgment For Duty to Defend, Indemnify

   On summary judgment, the insured general contractor prevailed not only on the duty to defend, but also the duty to indemnify. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Old Republic Gen. Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103954 (S.D. N. Y. Aug. 7, 2015).    170 Broadway entered into a construction management agreement with McGowan Builders Inc. to serve as its construction manager for a hotel being built in Manhattan. Under the agreement, McGowan obtained a general liability policy from Old Republic naming 170 Broadway as an additional insured. 170 Broadway also secured its own policy from Wausau.     Adam Burawski, an employee of a security company, came to the 170 Broadway site to meet with McGowan about provided security services for the project. Before the meeting, Burawski tripped and fell, sustaining a serious injury.     Burawski filed suit against 170 Broadway. After the suit was tendered, Old Republic notified Wausau that the claim did not fall within the additional insured coverage in the Old Republic policy. Therefore, Old Republic declined to defend or indemnify 170 Broadway. Wausau sued Old Republic contending Old Republic was obligated to provided a defense and indemnify 170 Broadway.     There were two additional insured endorsements in Old Republic's policy. Both provided additional insured coverage where (1) such coverage was required by written contract, and (2) the liability at issue arose from an act or omission that was part of McGowan's "ongoing operations." There was no dispute that McGowan was required by a written agreement to provide a policy naming 170 Broadway as an additional insured.     Old Republic argued the second criteria was not satisfied because Burawski's injury could not have stemmed from McGowan's "acts or omissions." McGowan had not yet begun the "work." The court disagreed. Whether the "work" as defined by contract had begun was irrelevant because the injury "arose out of" McGowan's ongoing operations, triggering the additional insured provisions. Pursuant to the agreement with 170 Broadway, McGowan was in the process of hiring subcontrators when the accident occurred. Therefore, the "work" had begun for purposes of the additional insured endorsements. Accordingly, Old Republic had a duty to defend 170 Broadway.    Regarding the duty to indemnify, Burawski's claims "arose out of" McGowan's "ongoing operations" and were therefore also covered by the endorsements in Old Republic's policy. Under New York law, a policy covering liability "arising out of" the policy holder's operations required only that there be some causal relationship between the injury and the risk for which coverage is provided.     It was possible to determine whether an injury arose out of an insured's operations without reaching a determination on liability, so a final determination on causation was not necessary. As the court had already concluded that Burawski's injuries arose out of McGowan's ongoing operations, it followed that 170 Broadway was entitled to indemnification from Old Republic even without a determination regarding legal causation. Old Republic therefore had a duty to indemnify if 170 Broadway was found liable in the Burawski action.     Consequently, Wausau's motion for summary judgment was granted.

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Insurance Online : You’ve Closed on a House. Now What?

Congratulations! You just made one of the biggest purchases of your life. Buying a home is a thrilling rite of passage. But even if you’ve found the perfect home that’s move-in ready, you should take some steps before you start unloading the U-Haul.

Taking these steps won’t be exciting, but they’ll help you enjoy your new place now and in the future.

Change the locks

Whether you’re the DIY type or prefer to have a professional do the work, change all exterior locks before you move in. You have no idea how many people out there have a key to your home as the previous tenants could’ve handed spare keys out to friends or family. In addition, maintenance workers and real estate agents may have keys to your house. To help you and your family feel safer, beef up security by installing new locks as soon as you get the keys to the place.

Clean every nook and cranny

Not everyone will leave the house clean for the next resident, and someone else’s definition of clean may be vastly different than yours. Clean the carpets, cabinets, and every room to remove all traces of the former occupants. Again, you can handle this task on your own or hire a cleaning service if you’re pressed for time. Either way, you’ll feel much more comfortable in your new home.

If you’re planning to sand down wood floors or tackle other jobs that are typically messy and time-consuming, get to them before you move into your home.

It’s also wise to treat for insects and other pests before you move in. Your mortgage lender may require this.

Paint and make other improvements

The previous residents of the home probably hung pictures, artwork, and other decorations on the walls, so it’s important to go through and repair any cracks and holes in the walls and ceilings. Plus, fresh coats of paint will make the home feel more inviting and will allow you to customize the space to look exactly the way you want.

If you don’t have time to decide on a new color for every room, pick a neutral for all of them if the walls look to be in poor condition. You can always go back later and paint one room at a time. Remember, though, putting your stamp on the house doesn’t mean going crazy. You don’t want to paint rooms a color that will turn off potential buyers when that time comes.

Have mechanical structures inspected and cleaned

Especially in older homes, hire professionals to inspect and repair the cooling and heating systems, electrical outlets, and plumbing. Also check to see that carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are working properly before moving into the home. Lastly, familiarize yourself with the fuse box so you’re not wandering around blindly trying to find it and figure out which switch to flip when the power goes out for the first time. The same goes for the water system shutoff valve.

Make sure your family is prepared

Put together an emergency survival kit and map out an emergency evacuation plan and make sure all family members are familiar with the plan. You never know when disaster can strike, and it’s important that your family be prepared for any situation. An ounce of prevention now can prevent a wall of confusion in a real emergency.

Once all the chores are taken care of, enjoy the fresh start in your new home!

Photo credit for preview image: Filippo C

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Insurance Online : You’ve Closed on a House. Now What?

Congratulations! You just made one of the biggest purchases of your life. Buying a home is a thrilling rite of passage. But even if you’ve found the perfect home that’s move-in ready, you should take some steps before you start unloading the U-Haul.

Taking these steps won’t be exciting, but they’ll help you enjoy your new place now and in the future.

Change the locks

Whether you’re the DIY type or prefer to have a professional do the work, change all exterior locks before you move in. You have no idea how many people out there have a key to your home as the previous tenants could’ve handed spare keys out to friends or family. In addition, maintenance workers and real estate agents may have keys to your house. To help you and your family feel safer, beef up security by installing new locks as soon as you get the keys to the place.

Clean every nook and cranny

Not everyone will leave the house clean for the next resident, and someone else’s definition of clean may be vastly different than yours. Clean the carpets, cabinets, and every room to remove all traces of the former occupants. Again, you can handle this task on your own or hire a cleaning service if you’re pressed for time. Either way, you’ll feel much more comfortable in your new home.

If you’re planning to sand down wood floors or tackle other jobs that are typically messy and time-consuming, get to them before you move into your home.

It’s also wise to treat for insects and other pests before you move in. Your mortgage lender may require this.

Paint and make other improvements

The previous residents of the home probably hung pictures, artwork, and other decorations on the walls, so it’s important to go through and repair any cracks and holes in the walls and ceilings. Plus, fresh coats of paint will make the home feel more inviting and will allow you to customize the space to look exactly the way you want.

If you don’t have time to decide on a new color for every room, pick a neutral for all of them if the walls look to be in poor condition. You can always go back later and paint one room at a time. Remember, though, putting your stamp on the house doesn’t mean going crazy. You don’t want to paint rooms a color that will turn off potential buyers when that time comes.

Have mechanical structures inspected and cleaned

Especially in older homes, hire professionals to inspect and repair the cooling and heating systems, electrical outlets, and plumbing. Also check to see that carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are working properly before moving into the home. Lastly, familiarize yourself with the fuse box so you’re not wandering around blindly trying to find it and figure out which switch to flip when the power goes out for the first time. The same goes for the water system shutoff valve.

Make sure your family is prepared

Put together an emergency survival kit and map out an emergency evacuation plan and make sure all family members are familiar with the plan. You never know when disaster can strike, and it’s important that your family be prepared for any situation. An ounce of prevention now can prevent a wall of confusion in a real emergency.

Once all the chores are taken care of, enjoy the fresh start in your new home!

Photo credit for preview image: Filippo C

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Insurance Online : No Coverage Under Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause

   The policy's anti-concurrent causation clause blocked coverage for damage to the home caused by wind and flood. Clarke v. Travco Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104267 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2015).    The insured's home was located about twenty feet from the Hudson River. Hurricane Sandy caused the river to rise, creating damage to the insured's home. The insured did not have flood insurance. During the storm, water flooded the lower level of the house to a level of about four feet. Further, a wooden dock from another property, approximately fifteen feet by ten feet, entered the property and came to rest within the lower level.     The insured submitted a claim under his homeowner's policy to Travco Insurance Company. An investigator concluded that the cause of damage to the home was flood/water. The claim was denied.    The insured sued and Travco moved for summary judgment. The court granted Travco's motion for summary judgment. The insured failed to demonstrate any genuine issues of material fact. The facts showed that a dock, floating on top of water, was pushed by wind into the lower level of the home. The insured sought to differentiate damage to the property caused by the dock from damage caused by flood waters. The insured argued that the damage done by the dock was caused solely by wind and therefore fell outside the provision excluding water damage from coverage.    But the exclusion in the policy did not cover "any direct or indirect loss or damage caused by, resulting from, contributing to or aggravated by any of these excluded perils." The policy then had an anti-concurrent causation clause stating that "loss from any of [the listed perils] is excluded regardless of any other cause or event contributing concurrently or in any sequence to the loss." One of the excluded perils was water damage, which included flood.     While it was possible that the dock may have been driven into the property by wind, it was clear from the record that the dock was driven into the house because it had been floating on, and was also driven by, water. Even if wind were the main cause, the water upon which the dock was resting at least indirectly caused or aggravated the damage to the insured's property. The anti-concurrent causation clause meant that where a loss resulted from multiple contributing causes, coverage was excluded if the insurer could demonstrate that any of the concurrent or contributing causes were excluded by the policy. 

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Insurance Online : Claim for Vandalism Loss Survives Motion to Dismiss

   The court ruled that the insured's claim for vandalism of his house by a renter and for bad faith survived the insurer's motion to dismiss. Wehrenberg v. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103758 (W.D. Pa. Aug. 7, 2015).    The insured's home was insured by a homeowner's policy issued by Metropolitan. The insured rented his home to Alphonso Hyman in October 2011. In lieu of rent, Hyman was to pay the mortgage company the equivalent of his rent each month.     In early 2012, Hyman stopped making the monthly rent/mortgage  payments. The insured went to the home and found the locks had been changed. Looking in the windows, he saw the interior had been gutted. When the insured reached Hyman, Hyman said he was a contractor and was fixing the structural problems and would put the house back together. He also promised to make up late payments to the mortgage company. The insured did not report what he found to Metropolitan.     A year later, mortgage payments again stopped. When the insured went to the house, he found not only the first floor in the same disassembled condition, but that the basement and second floor had also been gutted.     The insured then filed a claim with Metropolitan, asserting that the property had been vandalized. Metropolitan denied the claim and the insured lost the home in foreclosure.     The insured sued for breach of contract and bad faith. Metropolitan filed a motion to dismiss. The motion was denied. First, Metropolitan did not demonstrate that the facts alleged could never be "vandalism or malicious mischief," which would be covered under the policy.     Although the insured did not report any loss after his first visit to the house, he did report the loss to Metropolitan following his second visit when he found additional damage. Thus, it was plausible that he did not acquiesce in the second incident in which Hyman removed even more elements from the home without the insured's permission. What took place may or may not have been vandalism - it was too soon to tell.    Because the complaint stated a plausible breach of contract claim, Metropolitan's argument to dismiss the bad faith claim also failed. 

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