Article ID: b93f86e43755030cd0d638a367391130aeff0a438084ae976cb303498268eeac
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/judge-sides-with-local-insurance-fund-in-coverage-dispute/
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Judge sides with local insurance fund in coverage dispute - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Judge sides with local insurance fund in coverage dispute by Richard Sine Coverage Disputes , P/C Insurers AIG Aug 25, 2026 A unit of American International Group has lost a bid to make a New Jersey county’s joint insurance fund share the cost of a $4.75 million settlement stemming from an ambulance crash, after a judge found that joint insurance funds spread risk but do not qualify as insurers under state law. The case, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA v. Somerset County Joint Insurance Fund , arose from a settlement of a lawsuit over a car accident involving an ambulance owned by the Borough of South Plainfield, causing catastrophic injuries. The ambulance was borrowed by the Rescue Squad of South Plainfield and driven by a Squad employee. National Union and the joint insurance fund jointly funded the settlement with the injured man and his wife, with each side agreeing their contributions would later be reallocated based on a court determination. National Union argued that insurance fund’s coverage document made it the primary insurer for borough-owned vehicles, pushing National Union’s policies into an excess role. On Friday, Judge Zahid N. Quraishi of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey rejected that argument, citing a 2023 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that held joint insurance funds are not insurers under state law. In that 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court held that joint insurance funds “cannot insure members.” Instead, they “enable members to self-insure, spread risk, and reduce insurance costs.” Because joint insurance funds cannot insure members, it did not matter that the insurance fund’s coverage document said it provided “insurance,” the judge found. Judge Quraishi also found an endorsement in National Union’s auto policy covering emergency service organizations made the National Union policy primary “with no consideration or contribution from any other insurance,” regardless of who owned the vehicle. As a result, National Union’s auto and excess policies must be exhausted before Somerset County Joint Insurance Fund pays anything further, and the fund is entitled to reimbursement for any public money it has spent beyond that share, the judge wrote. 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