In Westfield Insurance Co. v. FCL Builders, Inc., 407 Ill. App. 3d 730 (2011), a general contractor was denied coverage as an additional insured on a sub-sub-contractor’s policy in the absence of a written agreement. In the recently decided Secura Insurance v. Phillips 66 Co., 2022 IL App (1st) 210069, however, a service agreement required the assignor to defend, indemnify, and procure liability insurance for a company for which the assignor was doing work. It procured a policy from Secura Insurance. An additional insured endorsement extended coverage to persons for whom the assignor performed operations as long as a written contract required that person to be added as an additional insured. The assignor assigned the service agreement to the assignee. Because of the assignment, the court held that the writing requirement of the additional insured endorsement was satisfied, and coverage was owed for a claim of injury by the assignee’s employee because the assignee stepped into the shows of the assignor, satisfying the writing requirement and obligating the insurer to provide a defense to the employee’s claim. This result obtained even though the assignee was not sued by its employee, as it had tort immunity.  

For info on how to claim insurance coverage, contact Thomas Patterson at tpatterson@pattersonlawfirm.com.