In Deere & Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2019 WL 912151
(Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 25, 2019), a California Court of Appeal
recently held that an insured's self-insured retention
(SIR)1 was considered part of the underlying limit of
liability such that it need not be satisfied again and again just
to access excess insurance policies. This case represents another
example of the California appellate courts shooting down an
insurance company's attempt to overreach. Nonetheless,
insurance companies will continue to look for ways to avoid
providing the coverage they contracted to provide, and
policyholders must always be vigilant.
This particular dispute arose over insurance coverage for
several asbestos personal injury claims made against manufacturer
Deere & Company arising from products it manufactured from 1958
to 1986. During that period, Deere had coverage in place via a
series of first-layer umbrella policies2 for personal
injury claims; several layers of excess insurance
