A trust tasked with securing payouts on asbestos injury claims against Asarco LLC can pursue the full limits of excess policies that defunct Midland Insurance Co. issued to the mining company in a single year, a New York judge has ruled, refusing to restrict the insurer’s coverage to a proportional share of the trust’s total recovery.
In a decision made public Tuesday, Judge Barbara Jaffe confirmed a referee’s November 2016 finding that Midland’s coverage dispute with the Asarco Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust must be governed by the “all sums” method of allocation, which permits an insured to call upon any insurance policy in effect during the period that injuries occurred to cover its total loss. The trust is looking to access up to $55 million under four excess policies that Asarco bought from Midland in the mid-1970s.
Read more: Insurer Can't Prorate Asarco Asbestos Coverage, Judge Says