A Tenant’s Insurance Policy Doesn’t Necessarily Protect The Property Owner

Most leases require the tenant to maintain liability insurance, which covers the risk that someone gets hurt on the property and sues. Because that injured person will probably sue both the tenant and the property owner, leases typically require the tenant’s insurance to name the landlord as an “additional insured.” That way, the insurance company will have an obligation to protect both the tenant and the property owner when the litigation begins.

All of that should give the property owner comfort. But the comfort is not complete, as demonstrated yet again in a recent New York case. There, someone tripped and fell on the sidewalk. They sued both the tenant and the property owner. The property owner was named as an additional insured on the tenant’s insurance policy and asked the tenant’s insurance company to deal with the litigation.