The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that communications from counsel for the buyer of a property concerning undisclosed contamination were sufficient to constitute a Claim against the Insured seller.
Lloyd's Syndicate 3624 (Hiscox) v. Clow, 2022 WL 614940 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 2, 2022). Because the Insured failed to provide notice of the Claim within the notice period, no coverage was available for the buyer's subsequent lawsuit involving the contamination.
The trustee for a family trust purchased a professional liability insurance policy for the policy period of December 8, 2017 to December 8, 2018, which was renewed the following year.
The policy defined 'Claim' as 'any written assertion of liability or any written demand for financial compensation or non-monetary relief.'
The policy required that the Insured 'give written notice to us of any claim as soon as possible, but in any event, no later than 60 days after the end of the policy period.' The renewal policy (for the policy period of December 8, 2018 to December 8, 2019) was issued subject to the same relevant terms.
