QBE Insurance Units Sue Over Silica Litigation Defense Costs

Stone Source LLC and other manufacturers, suppliers, and contractors handling industrial stone products were hit with a lawsuit from QBE Insurance Group Ltd. units over litigation alleging bodily injury from exposure to silica dust.

Insurance coverage is barred by provisions in commercial general liability and umbrella policies issued by Regent Insurance Co., Stonington Insurance Co., and QBE Insurance Corp., the carriers said in a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The defendants were named in more than 40 underlying suits, mostly filed in California state court, by workers who said they inhaled ...