Ask PIA

Loss runs—insurance company requirements

Is there any New York state law relating to an insurer’s requirement to furnish loss runs?

Second notice—alternative renewal procedure

My insured on a commercial package policy received a conditional renewal notice stating that the new premium will likely exceed last year’s premium by more than 10%. Must the company send a follow-up notice providing the insured the exact premium?

Free Trade Zone protections

New York’s policyholder protections regarding cancellation, nonrenewal, and advance notice of premium increases—do they apply to policies written in the Free Trade Zone?

Material misrepresentation—claim denial

Could a material misrepresentation on an application for a commercial policy be grounds for denying a claim presented under the policy?

Cancellation to inception date

Our client is a law firm. On the renewal application for their claims-made professional liability coverage, one of the partners failed to disclose a situation that resulted in a claim. The company wants to cancel the policy back to the renewal date. This would cause problems obtaining “prior acts” coverage under a replacement claims-made policy. Can they do this?

Ocean-marine policies

Are ocean-marine policies governed by any New York law that spells out cancellation procedures?

Hyperlimits excess liability policies

Changes are being made to the terms of a $10 million umbrella policy we sold. The client has not been notified of these changes by the company. I thought changes in policy terms required prior notice. Did the company make an error?

Additional insureds—primary coverage

There was a New York court decision that interpreted all additional insureds to have primary coverage if coverage for the named insured was primary. Can you provide some details on this case and was there anything unusual about it that would prevent it from applying to all additional insured requests?

Loss runs—how many years must be provided?

How many years’ worth of loss information must a commercial insurer provide upon request? Can a prospective insurer ask for more information than the current insurer is required to provide?

New York premium audit time frames

We are moving a commercial policy to a new carrier. Suddenly the old carrier wants six years’ worth of records from the insureds so they can do premium audits. Can they do this?

Equipment for apartment building breakdown

Should a standard six-story apartment building in New York have a need to purchase comprehensive equipment breakdown boiler insurance?

We understand the basic coverage covers boiler and machinery and that the comprehensive covers the electrical system, however, we are not sure if this is a necessary coverage. Should a fire result from any electrical arcing, the subsequent fire will be covered under his fire policy. Is there an example of something that would be covered under the comprehensive form and not the basic?

Loss runs—charging fees

A company sent a notice of conditional renewal to our commercial client. The notice included the client’s right to get loss runs, but said “there may be a fee charged for providing this information.” Can the company charge for providing loss runs?

Commercial-lines midterm premium increase

What are the rules for increasing the premium on a commercial-lines policy during the policy term?

Nonpayment cancellation (audit payment)

Can a commercial-lines policy be cancelled for nonpayment of the prior year’s unpaid audit premium?

Offsetting premium owed by withholding from a claims payment

May a company reduce a claim payment by the amount of premium owed on the policy?

Additional insured vs. additional named insured

Could you please clarify the difference between an additional insured and an additional named insured?

Business interruption payroll coverage

Under the Business Income Coverage form, how do we help a client decide between insuring ordinary payroll vs. just that of key employees?

Business interruption—’leader’ location

Have you ever heard of a coverage called “leader”? An adjuster suggested that our insured should have this.

Floor plan coverage

What can you tell me about “floor plan” insurance?

Completed operations

If a contract between a general contractor and a subcontractor contains a hold-harmless agreement that includes “any and all claims” (with no restriction to bodily injury or property damage and no specific reference to products and completed operations), will the subcontractor’s contractual coverage respond to a completed operations claim?

Bankrupt client

We’d like to know what the insured’s obligation is to the insurance company for premiums if the insured goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Power-surge exclusion

A gas station with a package policy sustained a loss when a power surge shorted its computer equipment. It turned out that a tree limb on the premises was rubbing on the wires, creating power surges. The insurer is denying coverage. Is it correct in doing so?

First-named insured pays

Suppose that more than one company under common ownership was insured under a commercial package policy and the company that was listed as the first-named insured was to go bankrupt. If there are any premiums due, can the other company refuse to pay the premiums due on the previous policy?

Umbrella drop-down provisions

We have an insured with an umbrella policy for $4 million in coverage, over a $1 million primary policy. If the carrier providing the underlying policy becomes insolvent, would the insured be able to collect on the umbrella policy?

Deleting an additional insured

What are the guidelines for deleting an additional insured from a policy?

Completed operations liability

Could you please clarify the relationship between contractual liability and an additional insured endorsement with regard to completed operations coverage?

Business interruption from power outage

Because of the storm, my client is without power and will be unable to operate his business until it is restored. Will the business income coverage be applicable to this loss?