contingent business interruption coverage

Insurers are starting to deploy adjusters to handle claims from Hurricane Sandy. An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports that “Disaster-modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates the industry’s share of losses at $7 billion to $15 billion. At the high end of that range, Sandy would become the third-most expensive storm for insurers in U.S.

In Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Ltd v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140257 (D.Md., Sept. 28, 2012), the federal district court for the district of Maryland addressed an important issue regarding contingent business interruption coverage – what is a “direct” supplier of goods or services. As is explained in the opinion, contingent