Professional Liability Coverage versus General Liability Coverage

April 22, 2013

A lawsuit is filed in New Jersey, Atlantic County. One of the allegations is negligence in the recommending of the selection of chairs. Our named insured's scope of work was to redesign an employee break room, including picking chairs from a catalog. The plaintiff, an employee, sustained injuries when the chair in question collapsed. Our named insured is not the manufacturer. Policy endorsements include CG 22 43, which excludes engineers, architects, or surveyors professional liability. Would there be coverage under the CGL policy or should this be defended by the professional carrier? Simply, is there coverage under the CGL form if in fact the scope of the insured's work included choosing chairs?