Coverage For Asbestos Claims Under Premises/Operations Not Products/Completed

There may be some relief for individuals and their families who suffered from exposure to asbestos. In  Continental Casualty Co., et al. v. Employers Ins. Co. of Wausan, a New York trial court found that employees of Robert A. Keasbey Company, a small New York insulating company who has been out of business since 1995, were exposed to asbestos during the installation and removal processes.  The employees’ injuries occurred before the completion of the work, not after, and thus the premises/operations coverage applies rather than the products/completed operations coverage.

      This distinction is important because the premises/operations coverage does not have an aggregate limit, it only has a per occurrence limit.  On the other hand, the products/completed operations coverage has an aggregate limit, which is exhausted.    

       Before determining that the company’s primary and excess insurers are on the hook, the Court also examined whether exposure to asbestos in general was considered one occurrence under the policy or whether each injured employee’s exposure was considered a separate occurrence.  The Court determined correctly that each injured employee’s exposure was a separate occurrence because the exposure occurred at various work sites over many years.  Injured employees and their families may now seek funds from the companies’ primary and excess insurers under the premises/operations coverage.

     This decision has many other injured individuals and their families re-examining their facts and it will be interesting to see what effect it has on asbestos litigation.  Finally some employees and their families will receive long overdue compensation for their illnesses.

Melissa Birnbaum