In a sweeping decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit extended the absolute pollution exclusion to the unplanned discharge of “rock fines,” pellets produced during quarry operations, and denied coverage for the cost of removing the rock fines and defending a state law claim against the insured.
The insured, Eastern Concrete Materials,
Recent damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have focused attention on special “named storm” and “hurricane” deductible endorsements found in most property insurance policies issued for coastal areas. Such endorsements typically convert the insured’s deductible from a fixed amount to a percentage of the property value, such as 1, 2, 5, or 10 percent,