Travelers says another insurer went quiet - ignoring six requests to cover a Walmart slip-and-fall - and now it wants a judge to step in.
In a complaint filed July 20, 2026, in federal court in New Jersey, The Travelers Indemnity Company of America asked for a declaration that Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina must defend and pay for two of its insureds in a separate injury case.
That case began with a fall. A shopper slipped on ice and snow in a Walmart parking lot on March 15, 2022, and, according to the complaint, blamed the "alleged negligence of Mercer and certain other entities." The suit is still pending in Pennsylvania.
The coverage question turns on a contract. Mercer Enterprises handled snow and ice removal, and Travelers says it signed a Master Service Agreement promising to add Walmart and City Facilities Management as additional insureds. Mercer's coverage, the agreement states, "shall apply as primary insurance before any other insurance or self-insurance, including any deductible, maintained by, or provided to, the additional insured."
Mercer's carrier was Selective. Its policy, Travelers says, includes a blanket additional-insured endorsement and a primary-and-non-contributory provision - language Travelers reads as putting Selective first to pay. Travelers' own policy, by contrast, is written as excess.
Travelers says it tendered the defense to Selective on October 7, 2024, and again five times through February 4, 2026, and got no response. The complaint says Selective "has refused to provide coverage" and asks the court to declare Selective primary, order it to defend and indemnify, and make it repay Travelers' costs.
The takeaway for claims teams is about the price of silence on a tender - and who ends up holding the bill when two carriers disagree.
Travelers' allegations have not been tested in court, and no judge has ruled.
