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$1 Million Theft Excluded from Coverage
In July 2012, John Moon, one of the owners of Alphacare Services Inc., which performed payroll services for Construction Contractors (Contractors), told Contractors that AlphaCare did not have enough assets to pay payroll, taxes or benefits expenses for Contractors’ subscribers.
Eventually, auditors informed Contractors that Moon (who was charged in May 2016 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and is awaiting trial for wire fraud) had wire-transferred about $930,000 from Construction Contractors’ funds to use for personal and AlphaCare expenses, leaving the company with substantial unpaid tax liabilities, according to court documents.
On Jan. 10, 2013, Contractors purchased a crime insurance policy, which included coverage for employee theft, from Federal Insurance Co. It advised the insurer there was still about $1 million that was unaccounted for.
Contractors later discovered the missing $1 million was stolen by check, and it submitted a claim for that amount with the carrier, according to court documents.
Federal Insurance denied the claim, saying all of the losses were a single loss under the policy because the insured had already discovered there was a loss prior to taking on the policy.
After a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo, the court agreed.
On July 11, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision.
“Because Construction Contractors discovered the wire fraud prior to the policy’s execution and the check theft and wire fraud constitute a single loss, the check-theft loss is excluded from coverage under the policy,” the court ruled.
Scorecard: The insurance company does not need to pay the $1 million theft claim.
Takeaway: The insured was aware of the loss “even if ‘the exact amount or details … are unknown.’ ”
Ruling Modifies ‘Care, Custody and Control’
In January 2013, Texas Trailer Corp., under the direction of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), tested a container designed by EPMP Ltd. and SandCan LLC to store and deliver sand from a mine to a well site.
Applying excess weight to the container deformed the corner castings and subsequent tests deformed the container, eventually causing a crack in the corner casting weld. The crack constituted a failure of the certification test.
EPMP and SandCan sued both Texas Trailer and ABS for damages. Texas Trailer (TTC) sought a defense from National Union Fire Insurance Co., but the insurer said the policy did not cover the damage.
After a jury found that only ABS had been negligent, not Texas Trailer, TTC sued National Union for reimbursement of litigation costs in excess of its $100,000 per occurrence retained limit, and breach of contract. The carrier sought a summary judgment on the trailer company’s claims.
On June 28, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas ruled in favor of National Union.
At issue was whether an exclusion for damage of property in the “care, custody or control” of the insured excluded coverage of the claim. The insured argued the container was only within its “physical control,” and not its “care, custody or control.”
The insurer “need only show that the property was ‘under the immediate supervision of the insured and [was] a necessary element of the work involved,’ ” the court ruled. “ABS may have designed the tests, but TTC actually performed them.”
Scorecard: National Union was not required to pay Texas Trailer’s litigation costs.
Takeaway: TTC’s argument that it acted under ABS’ guidelines was not sufficient to prevent the court from ruling that TTC had “care, custody or control” of the container.
The Meaning of ‘Collapse’
In 2014, renovations at the Masters Apartments revealed “substantial structural impairment” due to decayed rim joists.
CHL LLC, owner of the Seattle apartment complex, submitted a claim to American Economy Insurance Co., which had issued commercial property insurance from 1999 to 2005. An engineer hired by the insurer said the structural damage occurred between 1999 and 2002, and that a building inspector would classify it as a “dangerous” building.
American Economy denied CHL’s claim, saying the damage did not trigger coverage, as “collapse,” as defined by the policy from 2002 to 2005, required the building to fall down or be in imminent danger of falling down for a claim to be paid. (Prior to 2002, the term “collapse” was undefined.)
The insurance company filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle seeking a judgment that it did not need to indemnify the claim.
On July 7, the court ruled in favor of the insurance company and dismissed the case.
Given that Masters Apartments remained upright for 12 years after the apparent decay occurred, the court ruled, the building did not reach a state of collapse between 1999 and 2002, when American Economy provided coverage.
Scorecard: The insurance company did not need to pay for renovations to the apartment complex.
Takeaway: Depending on the state, interpretation of “collapse” can range from a building that has a non-imminent substantial impairment of structural integrity to a building that has actually fallen down.
