A new federal lawsuit between two of the country's better-known commercial insurers is putting a familiar construction-site headache back in the spotlight - who pays when a worker gets hurt on a busy job, and whose policy steps up first.
Travelers Property Casualty Company of America says it has been left holding the bag for defense costs that should belong to Peerless Insurance Company, a member of the Liberty Mutual group. In a filing dated April 27, 2026 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Travelers is asking a judge to declare that Peerless owes a defense and indemnity to three companies tied to a Queens high-rise project: HSD Construction LLC, the general contractor; Purvis Holding LLC and The Rabsky Group, LLC, the owners.
The dispute traces back to November 18, 2015, at a 26-story residential project at 44-41 Purves Street in Queens. According to the filing, Jaime Hernandez, a laborer employed by concrete subcontractor All Island Masonry & Concrete, was working at ground level when he was struck by falling glass debris. Travelers says the glass shattered while another subcontractor was installing balcony railings on upper floors. Hernandez later sued the contractor and owners in state court, and that case is still pending.
Here is where the insurance fight begins. All Island's commercial general liability policy with Peerless carries two additional insured endorsements, both tied to the same trigger - coverage applies for bodily injury "caused, in whole or in part, by" the named insured's acts or omissions, or by those acting on its behalf, during ongoing operations. One of the endorsements also includes a primary and non-contributory provision when required by written contract. Travelers points to an August 7, 2013 subcontract that, it says, required All Island to name HSD and the owners as additional insureds on exactly that basis.
Travelers alleges deposition testimony from All Island's own vice president of operations, who was on site that day, shows the subcontractor directed Hernandez's work in an unprotected area below where overhead glass installation was underway, without coordinating with the construction manager or setting up a no-access zone. That, Travelers argues, is enough to pull Peerless into the case.
Peerless saw it differently. The filing states the carrier was tendered the defense on January 6, 2022, and again on May 27, 2022, and that it denied coverage on February 28, 2022, taking the position that the injuries "were not caused, in whole or in part, by the acts or omissions of All Island Masonry or those acting on behalf of All Island." Peerless instead pointed to the subcontractor handling the glass work.
For claims professionals, the case is a reminder of how much weight deposition testimony from a subcontractor's own people can carry in a tender fight, and how often the "caused, in whole or in part" language and primary and non-contributory wording end up driving these disputes between carriers.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Peerless has not yet filed a response, and no judge has ruled.
