Opinion ID: 594404
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Effect of Separate Policy of Insurance Treatment Clause

Text: 100 The district court also granted summary judgment on the basis of the Separate Policy of Insurance Treatment Clause, under which all terms, conditions, and exclusions [are] treated as if a separate policy of insurance were issued to each assured. This clause, the district court reasoned, prevents the negligence of Hvide in supervising the mating of the vessel from being imputed to Occidental. The district court accordingly concluded that the Separate Policy Clause independently provides Occidental with coverage for the loss of the Oxy Producer. 101 We hold that the district court erred in granting summary judgment solely on the basis of the Separate Policy Clause. This clause, unlike the Liner Negligence Clause, does not displace or waive the implied warranty of seaworthiness at the inception of the risk. Instead, as Wausau points out, the Separate Policy Clause requires each assured to comply with policy requirements 'as if a separate policy of insurance were issued' to that assured individually. Thus, under Occidental's hypothetical separate time hull policy, it would have been required--but for the Liner Negligence Clause--to independently comply with the absolute warranty of seaworthiness implied at the moment the policy attached. The Separate Policy Clause, while it affected the operation of the Liner Negligence Clause, by itself neither displaced nor changed the terms of the implied warranty of seaworthiness at the inception of the policy.