Asbestos diseases often surface decades after the exposure that caused them. That long timeline creates a practical problem in litigation: The company responsible may have changed names, sold assets, or gone out of business, and its insurance paperwork may sit in a warehouse or nowhere at all.
“Insurance archaeology” describes the work of locating old liability coverage (often from the 1960s–1980s) and proving it in a way a court and insurer must take seriously. When coverage exists, it can affect who pays defense costs, what settlement money sits on the table, and how hard insurers fight.
What “Old Coverage” Can Still Do
Many historic commercial general liability policies turn on an “occurrence” during the policy period. In long-latency asbestos matters, Louisiana’s Supreme Court has applied an exposure theory in this context, treating exposure to harmful conditions as the occurrence that triggers coverage for the relevant years. That approach makes old policy years valuable, because the years of exposure often sit far back in time.
That does not guarantee payment. Insurers still raise defenses, dispute limits, and contest allocation. But identifying potentially triggered policy years gives plaintiffs and defendants a clearer view of the real coverage landscape.
Proving Coverage When Policies Went Missing
Companies rarely keep perfect insurance files for 40 or 50 years. Louisiana evidence rules do not require an original document in every situation. Louisiana Code of Evidence Article 1004 allows other evidence of a writing’s contents when originals are lost or destroyed (without bad faith) or cannot be obtained by available process.
Teams often rebuild coverage through broker records, canceled checks, ledger entries, old correspondence, certificates of insurance, reinsurance references, and insurer archive material. The goal is to show the policy existed, identify the key terms, and tie the policy period to the exposure history.
Talk With Pourciau Law Firm About Next Steps
Pourciau Law Firm represents people in Louisiana facing asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, from offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. If insurance questions may affect your case, we can review exposure history, explain how coverage issues may influence resolution, and discuss a plan that fits your situation. Call us at 504-305-2375 or reach us through our intake form.