Last week, in Pichel v. Dryden Mutual Ins. Co., — N.Y.S. 2d —, 2014 WL 1923736 (May 15, 2014), an intermediate level appellate panel in New York brought the state into line with the interpretation of water backup adopted by a number of other jurisdictions. The decision held that policy references to a “plumbing system” mean the plumbing system on the insured premises itself. As a result, a loss caused by water which backs up through sewers and drains is covered if the overflow originated within the insured’s property but excluded if the backup originated off site, as from a clogged municipal sewer system for example. The policyholder owned an apartment complex that was insured by Dryden Mutual. The structure…
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A New York Court Bars Coverage for a Power Outage Caused by Superstorm Sandy
This week saw a New York court bar a policyholder’s claim for business interruption occasioned by the loss of off-site power after Superstorm Sandy. In Johnson Gallagher Magliery, LLC v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co., 2014 WL 1041831 (S.D.N.Y., March 18, 2014), the federal court held that a law firm could not recover for the six-day period during which one of Consolidated Edison’s networks was out-of-service. The network was shut down preemptively several hours before the storm, and the contract of insurance’s “acts or decisions” exclusion was held to bar coverage for that period of time. In addition, a “water” exclusion operated to preclude coverage for the time necessary to clean, repair, and re-energize the system after the flooding where…
Tagged with: New York
Posted in Acts or Decisions, Business Interuption, Direct Physical Loss or Damage, Flood, Superstorm Sandy
Posted in Acts or Decisions, Business Interuption, Direct Physical Loss or Damage, Flood, Superstorm Sandy
The House and Senate Vote to Roll Back National Flood Insurance Program Premium Increases
Congress has officially placed the bipartisan Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act in hands of President Obama. If enacted, it will undo significant provisions of a 2012 law that caused sharp flood insurance rate increases. On March 4, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 306-91 to pass the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, H.R. 3370. This repeals portions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act. Just yesterday, March 16, the U.S. Senate voted 72-22 to approve the bill and send it to the President for his consideration. For those who don’t remember the Biggert-Waters Act, it was passed back in 2012 with overwhelming support in both houses of Congress. It called for changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. …
