Primary and noncontributory
Primary and noncontributory is contract and endorsement language about the order in which potentially applicable policies respond. Its effect depends on the actual policy language, including any provision that incorporates a written contract.
This phrase is a direction about coverage priority, not a substitute for reading the policies. Bovis Lend Lease shows why: the policy’s own wording made the subcontract relevant to the primary-or-excess question. Compare every potentially applicable policy and the corresponding contract requirement; a certificate alone cannot resolve their order of response.
Sources
- Primary source: Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc. v. Great American Insurance Co. — Published New York appellate decision explaining that the policy at issue made a written subcontract relevant to whether additional-insured coverage was primary or excess.
- Primary source: Travelers Indemnity Co. of America v. Southwest Marine & General Insurance Co. — Published decision stating that priority depends on comparing the other-insurance clauses of all policies that cover the same risk.