THE EXCEPTION TO THE FAULTY WORKMANSHIP EXCLUSION IN THE FIRE INSURANCE POLICY APPLIED TO PRESERVE COVERAGE FOR ENSUING LOSS (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the fire damage was covered under the policy:
Following an inspection of the property by a fire investigator and an electrical engineer, the defendant issued a letter to the plaintiffs’ claims adjuster disclaiming coverage for “building damage” on the grounds that “improper conditions” related to a junction box “were the direct cause of the fire and instant loss” and the policy specifically excluded coverage for faulty workmanship. … The exclusion provided, in relevant part, “[w]e do not insure for loss to property described in Coverages A and B caused by any of the following. However, any ensuing loss to property described [in] Coverages A and B not excluded or excepted in this policy is covered. . . c. Faulty, inadequate or defective: . . . (2) design, specifications, workmanship, repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, grading, compaction . . . of part or all of any property, whether on or off residence premises.”
“Where a property insurance policy contains an exclusion with an exception for ensuing loss, courts have sought to assure that the exception does not supersede the exclusion by disallowing coverage for ensuing loss directly related to the original excluded risk” … . Therefore, “an ensuing loss provision . . . provide[s] coverage when, as a result of an excluded peril, a covered peril arises and causes damage” … . …
We disagree with the Supreme Court’s determination that the plaintiffs did not establish, as a matter of law, that the exception to the faulty workmanship exclusion was applicable to preserve coverage for the damage to their property. The evidence in the record demonstrated that the fire occurred two years after the alleged faulty workmanship related to the junction box, and caused ensuing loss to property “wholly separate from the defective property itself” … . Fruchthandler v Tri-State Consumer Ins. Co., 2019 NY Slip Op 02502, Second Dept 4-3-19