Opinion ID: 398579
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: coverage of the insurance policies

Text: 14 The language of each policy at issue in this case clearly provides that an injury, and not the occurrence that causes the injury, must fall within a policy period for it to be covered by the policy. Most suits brought under this type of policy involve an injury and an occurrence that transpired simultaneously, or, at least, in close temporal proximity to one another. In cases involving asbestos-related disease, however, inhalation-the occurrence that causes the injury-takes place substantially before the manifestation of the ultimate injury-asbestosis, mesothelioma, or lung cancer. 9 Furthermore, although it is not known how little exposure is required to cause disease, inhalation may occur over a long period of time. As a result, inhalation may continue through numerous policy periods, the disease may develop during subsequent policy periods, and manifestation may occur in yet another policy period. For an insured such as Keene, different insurers are likely to be on the risk at different points in the development of each plaintiff's disease. Moreover, part of the development may occur at a time when no insurer was on the risk. Asbestos-related diseases, which are certainly covered by the policies, therefore differ from most injuries and hence present a difficult problem of contractual interpretation. 15 Neither the case law 10 nor the terms of the policies lead us directly to a resolution of the coverage issues raised in this case. Unfortunately, the insurance companies failed to develop policy language that would directly address the full complexity entailed by asbestos-related diseases. We have sought, however, to interpret these contracts in a manner that is equitable and administratively feasible and that is consistent with insurance principles, insurance law, and the terms of the contracts themselves. 16 We conclude that each insurer on the risk between the initial exposure and the manifestation of disease is liable to Keene for indemnification and defense costs. If possible, the factual predicate for the allocation of costs among insurers should be based on the facts of the underlying tort suit. If, however, the tort doctrine governing the underlying suit does not require proof of facts that would form a sufficient basis upon which to allocate insurance liability, then the necessary facts may be determined independently of that suit. 11 17 In construing the policies' coverage of liability for asbestos-related diseases, our objective must be to give effect to the policies' dominant purpose of indemnity. Couch on Insurance 2d, §§ 15:22, 15:41 (2d ed. Anderson 1959); 4 Williston on Contracts, § 900 (3d ed. Jaeger 1959). An insurance contract represents an exchange of an uncertain loss for a certain loss. In a comprehensive general liability insurance policy, the uncertain loss is the possibility of incurring legal liability, and the certain loss is the premium payment. By issuing the policy, the insurer agrees to assume the risk of the insured's liability in exchange for a fixed sum of money. At the heart of the transaction is the insured's purchase of certainty-a valuable commodity. See S. Huebner, K. Black, Jr., R. Cline, Property and Liability Insurance (2d ed. 1976) 5-7. This view of the insurance policies provides the starting point for analysis. 18 The next question must be certainty with respect to what contingencies? For an insured is only entitled to indemnity for losses that are covered by its policy. We are aided in our analysis of these policies' coverage by the well-accepted rule that ambiguity in an insurance contract must be construed in favor of the insured. See, e.g., Blue Anchor Overall Co. v. Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mut. Ins. Co., 385 Pa. 394, 123 A.2d 413 (1956); Couch on Insurance 2d, § 15:14 (2d ed. Anderson 1959); Williston on Contracts, § 621 (3d ed. Jaeger 1959). We believe, however, that although particular terms of the policies are ambiguous as applied to asbestos-related diseases, the principles embodied in the insurance policies provide a sufficient basis upon which to decide this case. In discerning those principles, our guide is-as it must be-the reasonable expectations of Keene when it purchased the policies. See, e.g., Steven v. Fidelity & Cas. Co., 58 Cal.2d 862, 869-70, 377 P.2d 284, 288-89, 27 Cal.Rptr. 172, 176-77 (1962); Allen v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 44 N.J. 294, 305, 208 A.2d 638, 644 (1965); Collister v. Nationwide Life Ins. Co., 479 Pa. 579, 388 A.2d 1346 (1978); Couch on Insurance 2d, § 15:16 (2d ed. Anderson 1959). 12 19 The analysis of the insurers' duty to indemnify Keene is divided into three logical steps: first, the trigger of coverage under the policies; second, the extent of coverage once a policy is triggered; and third, the allocation of liability among insurers if more than one policy is triggered. That analysis is followed by an examination of the insurers' duty to defend Keene and a discussion of the procedural mechanisms by which asbestos-injury suits can be adjudicated.
20 The first step in the analysis of this problem is to determine what events, from the point of exposure to the point of manifestation, trigger coverage under these policies. In the language of the policies, the question is when did injury occur? Both Keene and Hartford advance slightly different versions of the exposure theory of coverage. Keene argues that successive coverage is triggered by both exposure to asbestos dust (inhalation exposure) 13 and the subsequent development of disease (exposure in residence). 14 Keene bases its argument on medical evidence that the body incurs microscopic injury as asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs and as the surrounding tissue reacts to the fibers thereafter. Hartford also argues that successive coverage is triggered by continued exposure. Its argument is similarly based on the medical evidence of discrete tissue damage as each asbestos fiber reaches the lungs. For no apparent reason, however, Hartford asserts that the continued progression of disease following exposure does not trigger additional coverage. 15 Basing its decision on Insurance Co. of N. America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, 633 F.2d 1212 (6th Cir. 1980), aff'd on rehearing, 657 F.2d 814 (6 Cir. 1981), the district court adopted Hartford's version of the exposure theory. 16 21 INA, Liberty, and Aetna advance the manifestation theory of coverage. They argue that coverage is triggered only by the manifestation of either asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer. They assert that their interpretation of the contracts is supported by the ordinary meaning of the terms bodily injury, sickness or disease. They claim that bodily injury does not occur until cellular damage advances to the point of becoming a recognizable disease. INA and Liberty rely on cases in other areas of the law-workmen's compensation, health insurance coverage, and statutes of limitation-that support their interpretation of the term injury. E.g., Travelers Insurance Co. v. Cardillo, 225 F.2d 137 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 350 U.S. 913, 76 S.Ct. 196, 100 L.Ed. 800 (1955) (workmen's compensation), cited in Liberty's brief at 42-44 and INA's brief at 28; Reiser v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 262 App.Div. 171, 28 N.Y.S.2d 283 (1941) aff'd, 289 N.Y. 561, 43 N.E.2d 534 (1942) (health insurance), cited in Liberty's brief at 45 and INA's brief at 26; Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163, 69 S.Ct. 1018, 93 L.Ed. 1282 (1949) (statute of limitations), cited in INA's brief at 27. 22 The policy language does not direct us unambiguously to either the exposure or manifestation interpretation. In the context of asbestos-related disease, the terms bodily injury, sickness and disease, standing alone, simply lack the precision necessary to identify a point in the development of a disease at which coverage is triggered. The fact that a doctor would characterize cellular damage as a discrete injury does not necessarily imply that the damage is an injury for the purpose of construing the policies. At the same time, the fact that an ordinary person would characterize a fully developed disease as an injury does not necessarily imply that the manifestation of the disease is the point of injury for purposes of construing the policies. In interpreting a contract, a term's ordinary definition should be given weight, but the definition is only useful when viewed in the context of the contract as a whole. 23 Moreover, the legal definition of injury in other contexts informs the term's definition in this case only if the term operates in a functionally similar manner in the other contexts. In the areas of workmen's compensation, health insurance, and statutes of limitations, the concept of injury performs a function that is different from its function in the context of comprehensive general liability policies. 17 Therefore, the term's definition in those contexts is only minimally relevant to the question at hand. Instead, the purpose of the insurance policies must inform our construction of the term injury. 24 If exposure to asbestos were deemed to constitute a discrete injury and thereby trigger coverage, as Hartford and Keene suggest, the subsequent development of a disease would be characterized best as a consequence of the injury. Future stages of development would not constitute new injuries 18 and therefore would not trigger additional coverage. 19 Under that interpretation, a manufacturer who bought a comprehensive general liability policy would not bear the risk of liability for diseases that occurred due to exposure during a covered period. It would, however, bear the risk of liability for diseases that manifest themselves during the covered period, but that occur because of exposure at a time when the manufacturer held no insurance. As a result, the manufacturer's purchase of insurance would not constitute a purchase of certainty with respect to liability for asbestos-related diseases. The insured would remain uncertain as to future liability for injuries whose development began prior to the purchase of insurance. There is no indication that such a de facto exclusion of coverage from the policies was in the contemplation of any party to the contracts in this case. At the least, such an exclusion is inconsistent with Keene's reasonable expectations when it purchased the policies. The policies state that the insured is covered for injury during the policy period. In purchasing such coverage, Keene could have reasonably expected that it was covered for all future liability, except liability for injuries of which Keene could have been aware prior to its purchase of insurance. A latent injury, unknown and unknowable to Keene at the time it purchased insurance, must, at least, be covered by an insurer on the risk at the time it manifests itself. Any other result would violate very reasonable expectations of Keene. Therefore we hold that manifestation of disease is one trigger of coverage under the policies. 20 25 In American Motorists Ins. Co. v. Squibb, 95 Misc.2d 222, 406 N.Y.S.2d 658 (1978), the court faced an issue similar to the one in this case, under an insurance policy that was similar in all relevant respects to the policies we have before us. That case involved a drug manufacturer's liability for cancer that was caused by the ingestion of DES by the victims' mothers during pregnancy many years earlier. Squibb argued that the insurance company on the risk at the time of the disease's manifestation was obligated to pay the damages. The insurance company responded by arguing that the injury occurred when the victims' mothers ingested the drug and not when the disease manifested itself. The court held that bodily injury occurred when the cancer manifested itself. The court stated that the policy language does not limit coverage to incidents of exposure during the policy period, but rather to conditions which result in bodily injury during the policy period. Id. 406 N.Y.S.2d at 659. That court did not have to determine the liability of an insurer that was on the risk prior to the diseases' manifestation. 26 Thus, if the purpose of the policies is not to be undercut, the manifestation of disease must constitute an injury. Any characterization of exposure as a discrete injury, therefore, must be rejected. This is the same result that courts have reached in determining when an injury or disease begins for purposes of health and accident insurance policies. In those cases, courts have held that a manifestation rule is necessary to protect the reasonable expectations of the insured. E.g., Silverstein v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 254 N.Y. 81, 171 N.E. 914 (1930); Cohen v. North American Life & Casualty Co., 150 Minn. 507, 185 N.W. 939 (1921). In health and accident insurance policies, as in liability insurance policies, the purpose of the contracts would be defeated if the insured had to bear the risk of disease that is latent at the time a policy is purchased. See Comment, Liability Insurance for Insidious Disease: Who Picks Up the Tab? 48 Fordham L.Rev. 657, 671 (1980) (this rule is necessary to provide security policyholder seeks). 27 None of this implies, however, that insurance policies may not also be triggered prior to manifestation. In fact, we conclude that coverage is also triggered by both inhalation exposure and exposure in residence. 28 To demonstrate why the policies require that both exposure and manifestation trigger coverage, we begin by positing a rule in which manifestation is the sole trigger of coverage. If that interpretation were adopted, as INA, Liberty, and Aetna propose, Keene would not be covered for diseases manifesting themselves after 1976. 21 By that time, it was widely known that prolonged inhalation of asbestos has a high probability of causing disease. 22 From about then on, insurance companies ceased issuing policies that adequately cover asbestos-related disease. Yet we can still expect thousands of cases of those diseases to manifest themselves throughout the rest of the century. If we were to hold that only the manifestation of disease can trigger coverage, the insurance companies would have to bear only a fraction of Keene's total liability for asbestos-related diseases. 29 The possibility of that result would undermine the function of the insurance policies. When Keene purchased the policies, it could have reasonably expected that it was free of the risk of becoming liable for injuries of which it could not have been aware prior to its purchase of insurance. 23 There is no doubt that these losses would be covered if the diseases at issue developed spontaneously upon inhalation. Inhalation of asbestos is an occurrence that causes injury for which Keene may be held liable. The possibility that the insurers may not be liable arises solely because there is a period of time between the point at which the injurious process began and the point at which injury manifests itself. In this case, during that interim period, the existence of latent injury among people who had worked with asbestos became predictable with a substantial degree of certainty. The injury and attendant liability became predictable precisely because it was discovered that past occurrences were likely to have set in motion injurious processes for which Keene could be held liable. To accept the argument that only manifestation triggers coverage-and allow insurers to terminate coverage prior to the manifestation of many cases of disease-would deprive Keene of the protection it purchased when it entered into the insurance contracts. We, therefore, reject the manifestation theory as presented by INA, Aetna, and Liberty, 24 because it does not allow exposure, as well as manifestation to trigger insurance coverage. 30 Thus, in order for Keene's rights under the policies to be secure, both inhalation exposure and exposure in residence must also trigger coverage. Regardless of whether exposure to asbestos causes an immediate and discrete injury, the fact that it is part of an injurious process is enough for it to constitute injury under the policies. 31 This conclusion is consistent with the law involving insurance coverage of losses that begin during a period of coverage but continue to develop after a policy's expiration. For example, Snapp v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 206 Cal.App.2d 827, 24 Cal.Rptr. 44 (1962) involved a fire insurance policy that included coverage of most types of physical damage to property. The policy was issued on the plaintiff's house, which had been damaged due to movement of the land under the house. While the land was still unstable, the policy expired, and the insurer sought to limit its liability to the amount of damage that had occurred prior to the policy's termination date. The court held that the insurer's liability was not so limited, and that it had to indemnify the policyholder for all damage caused until the land movement ceased. The court stated that (t)o permit the insurer to terminate its liability while the fortuitous peril which materialized during the term of the policy was still active would not be in accord either with applicable precedents or with the common understanding of the nature and purpose of insurance. See also Harman v. American Cas. Co., 155 F.Supp. 612 (S.D.Cal.1957) (insurer cannot terminate property loss or fire protection while land remains unstable). 32 These cases illustrate the principle that when it becomes known that an occurrence has set in motion a process that has a significant probability of resulting in a covered loss, the insurer on the risk at that time is liable for the full loss. It does not matter whether the insurer learns of a progressing loss through direct observation, as in Snapp, or through statistical inference, as in asbestos-injury cases. It is the use of that knowledge to shift a covered risk back to the insured that is not permitted. 25 33 In sum, the allocation of rights and obligations established by the insurance policies, would be undermined if either the exposure to asbestos or the manifestation of asbestos-related disease were the sole trigger of coverage. We conclude, therefore, that inhalation exposure, exposure in residence, and manifestation all trigger coverage under the policies. We interpret bodily injury to mean any part of the single injurious process that asbestos-related diseases entail. We now proceed to consider the extent to which an insurer is liable to its policyholder once coverage under its policy is triggered.
34 The policies at issue in this case provide that the insurance company will pay on behalf of Keene all sums that Keene becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury during the policy period. We have defined bodily injury to mean any part of the injurious process that begins with an initial exposure and ends with manifestation of disease. As a result, when Keene is held liable for an asbestos-related disease, only part of the disease will have developed during any single policy period. The rest of the development may have occurred during another policy period or during a period in which Keene had no insurance. The issue that arises is whether an insurer is liable in full, or in part, for Keene's liability once coverage is triggered. We conclude that the insurer is liable in full, subject to the other insurance provisions discussed in section C below. 35 Hartford argues that each insurer is required to pay only a pro-rata share of Keene's liability. Once an insurer's coverage is triggered, its share would be determined by the duration of a plaintiff's exposure to Keene's products during its policy periods in relation to the entire duration of the plaintiff's exposure to Keene's products. Under Hartford's scheme, if there is a period of exposure during which Keene is uninsured, then Keene would bear a pro-rata share of the liability. 26 36 Hartford's argument is based on its characterization of asbestos-related diseases as consisting of a multitude of discrete injuries to the lung tissue. We have declined, however, to rely on that factual characterization in determining the trigger of insurance coverage, 27 and we decline to rely on it in determining the extent of coverage. Instead, we continue to rely on the terms of the contracts and the principles they embody. 37 Our starting point is the interpretation of the policies as the insurers' promises of certainty to Keene. The policies that were issued to Keene relieved Keene of the risk of liability for latent injury of which Keene could not be aware when it purchased insurance. Keene did not expect, nor should it have expected, that its security was undermined by the existence of prior periods in which it was uninsured, and in which no known or knowable injury occurred. 28 If, however, an insurer were obligated to pay only a pro-rata share of Keene's liability, as the district court held, those reasonable expectations would be violated. Keene's security would be contingent on the existence and validity of all the other applicable policies. Each policy, therefore, would fail to serve its function of relieving Keene of all risk of liability. The logical consequence of this is that the policies must require that once an insurer's coverage is triggered, the insurer is liable to Keene to the full extent of Keene's liability up to its policy's limits, but subject to other insurance clauses, discussed in section C, below. 38 Judge Wald suggests that the rationale of our decision is consistent with prorating insurance obligations to Keene for the years in which it was not insured. Judge Wald believes such a pro-rata allocation is fair, and we do not think her view is unreasonable. As we have just shown, however, such an allocation is inconsistent with the terms and underlying principles of the insurance policies at issue in this case. 39 We read Judge Wald's reasoning as follows: 1) As the court interprets the term, an asbestos-related injury occurs over a long period of time; 2) if Keene was uninsured during part of that time, then Keene is not covered for the full injury; 3) therefore, Keene should pay a pro-rata share of its own liability. 40 If we read Judge Wald correctly, her position is problematic. Although we have defined the term injury, we have done so only as an incidental aspect of a logically prior determination of Keene's rights under the policies viewed in their entirety. The insurance policies provide Keene with the right to be free of all liability for asbestos-related disease, unless such a disease was known or knowable by Keene at the time it purchased an insurance policy. 29 For that right to be preserved, each policy that Keene purchased between an initial exposure and the ultimate manifestation of a disease must be triggered. In a sense, that means that injury occurred during each of the policy periods. It does not mean, however, that there was some injury that did not occur during a policy period. That conclusion and the implication that the insurers are not obligated to indemnify Keene in full contradicts the first and foremost aspect of our decision-our holding that each policy provides Keene with the right to be free of liability for asbestos-related disease. 41 As stated above, each policy has a built-in trigger of coverage. Once triggered, each policy covers Keene's liability. There is nothing in the policies that provides for a reduction of the insurer's liability if an injury occurs only in part during a policy period. As we interpret the policies, they cover Keene's entire liability once they are triggered. That interpretation is based on the terms of the policies themselves. We have no authority upon which to pretend that Keene also has a self-insurance policy that is triggered for periods in which no other policy was purchased. Even if we had the authority, what would we pretend that the policy provides? What would its limits be? There are no self-insurance policies, and we respectfully submit that the contracts before us do not support judicial creation of such additional insurance policies. 42 Hartford argues that this allocation of liability allows Keene to enjoy the benefits of insurance coverage which it has never paid for. Hartford's brief at 31. 30 The contrary point, however, is more accurate: For an insurer to be only partially liable for an injury that occurred, in part, during its policy period would deprive Keene of insurance coverage for which it paid. With each policy, Keene paid for insurance against all liability for bodily injury. The policies do not distinguish between injury that is caused by occurrences that continue to transpire over a long period of time and more common types of injury. 31 Nor do the policies provide that injury must occur entirely during the policy period for full indemnity to be provided. 43 In support of its argument for pro-rata apportionment of liability, Hartford asserts that the liability scheme we now adopt would leave an insured equally off with one year of insurance coverage as it would be with several years of coverage. Id. That assertion is inapposite for two reasons. First, as a matter of probability, the more years of coverage that an insured has purchased, the smaller will be the number of injuries for which it will be liable. An insured will not be covered for an injury if it has insurance neither when a plaintiff's disease was developing nor when the disease manifested itself. 32 Second, and perhaps more important, because we hold below that only one policy's limits of liability may apply to one injury, 33 an insured who has purchased several policies that cover an injury will only be able to collect under one of those policies, even though he paid for several. Therefore, it is the insurer-not the insured-who reaps the most benefit from the similarity of treatment between an insured with one year of coverage and an insured with several years of coverage. 34 44 Not surprisingly, the policies do not explicitly provide a means of applying the limits of liability to injuries that are covered by multiple policies. Keene claims that it is entitled to full indemnity for each injury up to the sum of the limits provided by the applicable policies. We do not agree. The principle of indemnity implicit in the policies requires that successive policies cover single asbestos-related injuries. That principle, however, does not require that Keene be entitled to stack applicable policies' limits of liability. To the extent possible, we have tried to construe the policies in such a way that the insurers' contractual obligations for asbestos-related diseases are the same as their obligations for other injuries. Keene is entitled to nothing more. Therefore, we hold that only one policy's limits can apply to each injury. Keene may select the policy under which it is to be indemnified. Cf. Forty-Eight, supra, 633 F.2d at 1226 n.28.
45 In any suit against Keene for an asbestos-related disease, it is likely that the coverage of more than one insurer will be triggered. Because each insurer is fully liable, and because Keene cannot collect more than it owes in damages, the issue of dividing insurance obligations arises. The only logical resolution of this issue is for Keene to be able to collect from any insurer whose coverage is triggered, the full amount of indemnity that it is due, subject only to the provisions in the policies that govern the allocation of liability when more than one policy covers an injury. That is the only way that Keene can be assured the security that it purchased with each policy. Our holding each insurer fully liable to Keene is also consistent with other courts' allocation of liability when more than one insurer covers an indivisible loss. E.g., Gruol Construction Co. v. Insurance Company of North America, 11 Wash.App. 632, 524 P.2d 427 (1974) (continuous damage to property insurance policy). 46 This does not mean that a single insurer will be saddled with full liability for any injury. When more than one policy applies to a loss, the other insurance provisions of each policy provide a scheme by which the insurers' liability is to be apportioned. For instance, INA's policy states: 47 When both this insurance and other insurance apply to the loss on the same basis, whether primary, excessive or contingent, INA shall not be liable under this policy for a greater proportion of the loss than stated in the applicable contribution provision below. 48 J.A. II at 551. The contribution provision referred to contains formulae for contribution by equal shares and for contribution by limits, depending upon the provisions of other applicable policies. 35 These provisions of the policies must govern the allocation of liability among the insurers in any particular case of asbestos-related disease. However, the primary duty of the insurers whose coverage is triggered by exposure or manifestation is to ensure that Keene is indemnified in full. 36
49 The policies provide that the insurer shall defend any suit against Keene for damages due to bodily injury, even if the suit is groundless, false or fraudulent. The insurers' duty to defend Keene and to pay Keene for its defense costs are more broad than their duty to indemnify Keene. As long as a complaint indicates that Keene may be liable for an injury, an insurer must defend Keene if the facts alleged in the complaint indicate that its policy covers the alleged injury. Because we hold that each insurer is fully liable to Keene for indemnification, it follows that each is fully liable for defense costs. 37 50 Of course, only the insurer that Keene selects will defend Keene. The duty of that insurer is simply to defend Keene, not to minimize its own liability. As we state below, the factual basis of the insurers' contract obligations may be developed independently of the factual basis of the tort suit. If it is possible to resolve both the tort dispute and the insurance contract dispute together, without disrupting the tort victim's suit and without imposing undue inconvenience on the victim, a trial court may do so. Otherwise the two disputes should be resolved separately. This should eliminate the possibility that the insurer that represents Keene at trial will attempt to skew the factual record to the disadvantages of other insurers. 38
51 In a typical suit for products liability, the same set of facts would prove both the manufacturer's tort liability and the insurer's contractual liability. That is not true of suits that arise out of an asbestos-related disease. The leading case concerning manufacturers' liability for asbestos damage claims is Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp., 493 F.2d 1076 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 869, 95 S.Ct. 127, 42 L.Ed.2d 107 (1974). The court in Borel held that each manufacturer who contributed in any way, and at any time, to a claimant's bodily injury is fully liable for all of the resulting damages. If a victim was exposed to the products of more than one manufacturer, each manufacturer is jointly and severally liable to the victim. See also Karjala v. Johns Manville Products Corp., 523 F.2d 155 (8th Cir. 1975). As a result, a plaintiff in a suit against Keene need not prove the full extent of his or her exposure to asbestos. Yet that set of facts is essential to determining which policies cover Keene's liability. 52 The doctrine of joint and several tort liability in this context is an accepted means of vindicating the rights of the tort victims. Nothing that we decide concerning the contractual liability of the insurers to Keene should impair the tort plaintiff's prosecution of his or her suit. 39 53 Thus initially, the full insurance obligation to Keene must be divided among the insurers whose policies are triggered based on the facts brought out in the tort suit against Keene. The possibility of additional coverage can be determined consensually among insurers, or it can be adjudicated among insurers in a subsequent lawsuit. At that point the insurance obligations can be reallocated among all the insurers whose policies are found to cover a particular injury. 40 Any facts concerning the period of exposure or the point of manifestation that are proved in an underlying tort suit need not be legally dispositive of a dispute among insurers concerning allocation of their liability. Perhaps if the underlying tort suit would not be disputed and the plaintiff would not be put to undue inconvenience, the factual record needed to allocate insurance responsibility may be developed during the course of the underlying tort suit. 41 54 If a victim sues more than one asbestos-product manufacturer, it may be impossible to prove which company's products were used at which time. If so, it will be impossible to prove that exposure to Keene's products-as opposed to those of another manufacturer-occurred during a particular time period. In such a case, there should be a presumption that throughout the victim's period of exposure to asbestos he or she was exposed to Keene's and the other manufacturers' products. The insurer defending Keene in the underlying tort suits may then try to show that Keene's products could not have been involved for certain years. 42 Similarly, if a suit arises to resolve the allocation of insurance liability, any insurance company can try to prove that there was no inhalation of Keene's asbestos during or before its policy period. If an insurance company does so, then that company will be free of liability.