Section 4.13 Commercial General Liability Revisions Since 1986

• Library: Construction Law 2016 Supp

F. (§4.13) Commercial General Liability Revisions Since 1986

It is crucial for the insurance broker and the attorney of any party involved in a construction project to have an appreciation of the many revisions that have been initiated by ISO since 1986, the year ISO issued the first CGL policy form. All subsequent modifications arise from that form, which was generated as a result of two major forces:

1. State insurance regulators desiring simpler insurance language

2. The industry-wide concern in the 1970s over long-term liabilities (like asbestos) in an occurrence CGL policy form

See I COMMERCIAL LIABILITY INSURANCE § IV (Int’l Risk Mgmt. Inst., Inc. 2000).

Throughout this chapter, an explanation and impact of some of these revisions are discussed. This section provides a listing and then a discussion of the more significant changes resulting from the various revisions to the initial CGL policy form, beginning in 1988 and continuing through the fall of 2001, that impact insureds involved in the construction industry. They are:

The 1988 CGL Revisions—its forms were finally introduced for use throughout the country during 1990.

The 1993 CGL Revisions—they carry an edition date of October 1993 and were implemented on a countrywide basis by early 1994.

The 1996 CGL Revisions—ISO began filing these revisions in April 1995, with an edition date of January 1996 and an implementation schedule of either March or May 1996.

The 1997 CGL Endorsement Revisions—in July 1996, ISO filed a number of mandatory and optional endorsements with an edition date of March 1997 and a projected implementation date of April 1997.

The 1998 CGL Revisions—ISO introduced these revisions in April 1998, with an edition date of July 1998.

The 1999 CGL Revisions.

The 2001 CGL Revisions—ISO introduced its revised forms in mid-2001, with an edition date of October 2001. These form changes became available for use for any business written after December 1, 2001, in most states, including Missouri.

The 1988 CGL Revisions include ISO issuing a new occurrence policy form (CG 00 01 11 88) and a new claims-made policy form (CG 00 02 11 88). In these forms, the more important changes are:

· excluding contractual liability coverage for construction operations on or within 50 feet of a railroad;

· broadening the pollution exclusion;

· rewording the care, custody, and control exclusion for personal property to emphasize that it involves personal property in the care, custody, and control of an “insured”; and

· expanding the definition of “suit” to include other alternative dispute resolution procedures.

With the 1993 CGL Revisions, ISO again reissued its occurrence and claims-made policy forms (CG 00 01 10 93 and CG 00 02 10 93). The most pertinent modifications under these policy forms include:

· referring to “leased workers” as “employees”;

· rewording the railroad exclusion under the contractual liability coverage to clarify that indemnities to a railroad are the only indemnities affected by this exclusion; and

· designating titles for the exclusions of bodily injury and property damage coverage afforded under Coverage A of the policy.

In addition, several additional insured endorsements were altered for parties involved in construction work, especially forms CG 20 09 (Form A) and CG 20 10 (Form B). The most significant change occurred to the latter endorsement because coverage became limited to the insured’s ongoing operations—see the discussion in §§4.26–4.30 below. A concise and good discussion of these revisions can be found in II COMMERCIAL LIABILITY INSURANCE § VI H (Int’l Risk Mgmt. Inst., Inc. 2000) and 16 RISK REP. 4 (Int’l Risk Mgmt. Inst., Inc., December 1993).

Three years later, ISO again modified its two CGL policy forms (CG 00 01 01 96 and CG 00 02 01 96). The more significant changes made to these forms include:

· modifying the pollution...