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The Upshot of ISO's Fault-Based Additional Insured Endorsement

By Lisa C. Wood and Gregory Dennison

It has been 10 years since the Insurance Services Offices, Inc. (“ISO”) issued the fault-based version of its CG 20 10 additional insured endorsement. The 2004 endorsement, Form CG 20 10 07 04, replaced the widely litigated phrase “arising out of” with a more restrictive requirement that the additional insured's liability be “caused, in whole or in part, by” the “acts or omissions” of the named insured. ISO touted the 2004 revisions as the industry's solution to the overly broad judicial interpretations of “arising out of” that have afforded coverage for the additional insured's sole negligence and other unintended transfers of risk. Nevertheless, ISO's effort to achieve a narrower interpretation has been met with inconsistent and sometimes perplexing results. Some courts have interpreted the endorsement as requiring negligence while others have limited the coverage grant more strictly to vicarious liability.

Many courts have wrestled with the requisite degree of fault or how to interpret the duty to defend in the typical scenario where the named insured employed the claimant and is immune from direct allegations of fault. To further complicate matters, a new shift to a “no-fault” interpretation of the endorsement has recently gained traction in New York. With many issues still unresolved and litigation over the endorsement on the rise, ISO's fault-based additional insured endorsement seems to be proving no less troublesome than its predecessor.

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