Companies should re-examine their approach to additional insured provisions in their business contracts and insurance policies in light of the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in In re Deepwater Horizon, 710 F.3d 338 (5th Cir. 2013).

The Claim -

Transocean Holdings, Inc., the drilling contractor to BP America Production Company at the Macondo Well, maintained liability coverage in the amount of $750 million at the time of the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. BP asserted claims for insurance coverage as an additional insured under Transocean’s liability insurance policies for BP’s subsurface pollution liabilities.