The question of the month deals with the issue of the insurability of punitive damages. The answer to the question of insurability depends on the jurisdiction in which the issue is raised. There are currently three main positions that have been adopted by the courts. The insured and the insurer will want to know whether there is coverage for punitive damages under the terms of the general liability policy, and the pertinent articles in the FC&S Bulletins provide this information.

For information on the insurability of punitive damages and for a state-by-state status report on this issue, link onto the designated articles in the Bulletins.

The court cases this month come from Vermont, Ohio, New York, and New Hampshire . The Supreme Court of Vermont decides whether the installation of a product that was inferior in quality and different in color from the product required by contract constituted property damage as defined in the CGL form. A court of appeals in Ohio addresses the issue of uninsured motorists coverage for an employee who was injured while in transit to a worksite. The Court of Appeals of New York discusses an additional insured issue wherein the key point is the causal connection, or lack thereof, between the insured's operations and the injury. And, the New Hampshire Supreme Court handles a faulty work claim, with a roofing contractor bringing an action against its CGL insurer to recover the costs of defending a lawsuit alleging negligent roof replacement.

The Dec Page also notes laws and regulations from several states that impact on insureds and insurers.

Questions and Answers:

A concrete roof sustains damage that is due to either fire or inherent defect and cause of loss determines question of coverage. See Concrete Roof Damage. Declarations indicates three year policy term and premium being paid annually does not affect policy period. See Policy Period Discussion. Personal auto policy provides liability coverage for trailers loaned to others. See Loaned Trailers and Liability Coverage. These questions and answers are on the Q&A pages 1495-1496.

Notification required of newly acquired vehicles. See Newly Acquired Vehicle Coverage. Son between military assignments is not a resident insured. See Relative as an Insured. Property left with friend is covered under friend's homeowners policy. See Stolen Property Covered under HO Policy. Burned trees are not necessarily dead trees. See Burned but not Dead Trees Covered. These questions and answers are on the Q&A pages 1497-1498.

Miscellaneous Professional Services Coverage:

Chubb is now offering the miscellaneous professional services liability coverage that had been offered through Executive Risk Indemnity Inc. Changes have been made in the form, expanding definitions and clarifying coverage issues. An update of this article, which provides an overview of the coverage, has been added to FC&S this month. See Miscellaneous Professional Services Liability. The article is on the Specialty Lines Aa- pages.

Late Notice For Insureds:

The notice-prejudice rule is a nationwide trend whereby an insurer must prove that it was prejudiced from the delay by the insured in notifying the insurer of an occurrence or of tendering suit papers. An updated chart, which illustrates which states require insurers to show that they have been prejudiced by insureds filing late notices of claims before denying coverage, has been added to FC&S this month. See Late Notice Issue for Insureds. The article is on the General Bb- pages.