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Travelers seeks recovery for defense costs in ladder-fall coverage dispute
Travelers alleges its rival wrongly refused coverage for three additional insureds after a January 2017 Manhattan ladder fall, and says the defense costs have accumulated to more than $75,000.
Insurance Business reports that Travelers Indemnity Company of America is suing Southwest Marine and General Insurance Company over coverage for injuries tied to a ladder fall at a Manhattan construction site in January 2017.
According to the complaint, Travelers says Southwest Marine wrongly refused to cover three additional insureds, forcing Travelers to pay its defense costs for years under a commercial general liability policy.
The dispute, filed October 8, 2026, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeks a ruling that Southwest Marine owes primary coverage, as well as reimbursement for defense costs that Travelers alleges exceed $75,000.
The case centers on how additional insured endorsements and subcontract insurance clauses interact, a question the outlet notes claims and coverage teams handle frequently.