Objective Measurement of Structural Integrity
The Minneapolis bridge catastrophe and reports of past evaluations of the bridge suggest that insurers will need to turn their attention to standards of structural integrity. A recent Washington appellate decision includes an interesting discussion of this issue. Bedford, LLC v. Safeco Ins. Co., 2007 Wash. App. LEXIS 2675 (paras. 18-20). The interesting question in future claims will be whether long-term deterioration will be considered an occurrence causing property damage. I hope that such claims will be resisted.
