Nationwide Insurance Unit Sued for Refusing to Cover Silica Cases

A Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. unit was hit by a lawsuit from a Texas-based distributor of quartz slabs over its refusal to defend the policyholder in dozens of lawsuits alleging harm from silica exposure.

The insurer, Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Co., has a duty under its commercial general liability policies to pay defense costs incurred by Stylenquaza LLC in lawsuits seeking damages for a covered “bodily injury” caused by an “occurrence” during the policy periods from March 2011 to March 2017, the policyholder said in a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of ...