Insurer Must Pay Policyholder’s Superstorm Sandy Debris Removal Claim, N.J. Appellate Court Rules

TRENTON, N.J. — A surplus lines policy clearly and unambiguously provides additional coverage for debris removal and therefore the insurer must pay the policyholder’s claim for $207,961.28 for Superstorm Sandy-related costs and expenses, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled.

On March 14, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, rejected the insurer’s argument that the policy’s flood endorsement excluded debris removal, noting that endorsement contains no such exclusion.

Oxford Realty Group Cedar, CLA Management and R.K. Patten LLC (Oxford, collectively) sustained more than $1 million in flood damage to an apartment complex in Long Branch, N.J., as a result …