Liability Insurance Provides no Coverage for Damage to Insured’s Property
Post number 5283
See the video at https://rumble.com/v75m04u-a-certificate-of-liability-insurance-is-not-a-policy.html and at https://youtu.be/iJ9xol4CkBk
Without Evidence of Contract with Plaintiff There is No Insurance
In Erica T. Itzhak v. Briarwood Insurance Services Inc., Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co., 2026 NY Slip Op 00616, Appeal No. 5791, Index No. 651193/24, Case No. 2024-06530, Supreme Court of New York, First Department (February 10, 2026) Plaintiff Erica T. Itzhak alleged that her cooperative unit was damaged during a renovation. The complaint did not specify who caused the damage, nor did it clarify the relationships between the plaintiff, Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co., and Briarwood Insurance Services Inc., or provide details regarding which party was insured by Atlantic or Briarwood.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The plaintiff attached to her suit an ACORD certificate of liability insurance to her complaint, claiming she was named as an additional insured. The certificate indicated commercial general liability coverage existed.
ANALYSIS
The court referenced established case law stating that only those named as an insured or additional insured on an insurance policy are entitled to coverage. The burden falls on the party claiming coverage to prove they are covered by the policy.
Additionally, a certificate of insurance is not itself a contract to insure and cannot conclusively prove coverage, especially when it includes a disclaimer that it is issued for informational purposes only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder.
DISCUSSION
The Supreme Court (trial court) was found to have erred in denying Atlantic’s motion to dismiss, as the plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts showing coverage under the policy. The certificate of insurance attached to the complaint was insufficient evidence, as it neither constituted a contract nor confirmed the existence of coverage.
Even if the plaintiff were deemed an additional insured, the commercial general liability policy would not cover property damage to property owned by the insured, as it only provides third-party coverage — typically for liability resulting from a judgment or settlement against the insured.
CONCLUSION
The Appellate Division unanimously reversed the Supreme Court’s order, granting Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co.’s motion to dismiss the complaint as against it.
ZALMA OPINION
Insurance is, as I have stated multiple times, a contract. The plaintiff sued an insurer claiming to be insured by Atlantic, but did not produce the contract nor did she allege that the contract existed. A Certificate of Insurance, like the one she attached to the complaint, is only evidence of the existence of a contract and only, in this case, a liability policy that does not provide first party coverage.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.
Subscribe to my substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/subscribe
Go to X @bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the InsuranceClaims Library – https://lnkd.in/gwEYk.