Armstrong World Industries, Inc. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (45 Cal. App. 4th 1, 1996)

Opinion

DOSSEE, J.

This appeal raises a number of complex questions concerning insurance coverage for claims of asbestos-related bodily injuries and property damage. In the proceedings below, separate declaratory relief actions and related cross-actions involving three asbestos manufacturers—Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Fibreboard Corporation, and GAF Corporation —and their various insurance carriers were coordinated and tried in six separate phases over a five-year period.

On appeal, the parties submitted briefs on three major “Issue Groups,” and our opinion follows that organization. First, in the unpublished portion of the opinion, we discuss the issues of Issue Group I pertaining to a lost insurance policy. In Issue Group II we discuss the issues concerning the bodily injury claims: trigger and scope of coverage; the application of the phrase “neither expected nor intended”; the liability of premerger insurers; the effect of the Wellington Agreement. In Issue Group III, we discuss the issues surrounding the property damage claims: coverage for property damage; trigger and scope of coverage; the duties to defend and indemnify; and, in the unpublished portion of the opinion, the “drop-down" obligation of an INA-Armstrong excess policy.

After this appeal was submitted for decision, we granted a motion of certain parties to sever issues unique to them in order to facilitate a pending settlement. Accordingly, we have deferred decision upon issues pertaining to a lost Fibreboard-Pacific Indemnity insurance policy; the number of occurrences; the effect of the Fibreboard-Continental manuscript policy; and the application of the pollution exclusion clause.

Our previous opinion, filed on November 15, 1993, was vacated by the Supreme Court, and the matter was remanded to us for reconsideration in light of Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 645 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 324, 897 P.2d 1].

Guiding Principles

At the outset, we set forth the principles guiding our review, Interpretation of an insurance policy is primarily a judicial function. When the trial court’s interpretation did not depend upon conflicting extrinsic evidence, the reviewing court makes its own independent determination of the policy’s meaning. (Masonite Corp. v. Great American Surplus Lines Ins. Co. (1990) 224 Cal.App.3d 912, 916 [274 Cal.Rptr. 206].)

In interpreting an insurance contract, the court’s fundamental goal is to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties. Such intent is inferred, if possible, solely from the written provisions of the contract. (AIU Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1990) 51 Cal.3d 807, 821-822 [274 Cal.Rptr. 820, 799 P.2d 1253].) “If contractual language is clear and explicit, it governs.” (Bank of the West v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1254, 1264 [10 Cal.Rptr.2d 538, 833 P.2d 545].) Words in an insurance policy are to be interpreted as a layperson would interpret them, in their “ ‘ordinary and popular sense.’ ” (AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 822; Reserve Insurance Co. v. Pisciotta (1982) 30 Cal.3d 800, 807 [180 Cal.Rptr. 628, 640 P.2d 764].) A policy should not be read as it might be analyzed by an attorney or an insurance expert. (Delgado v. Heritage Life Ins. Co. (1984) 157 Cal.App.3d 262, 271 [203 Cal.Rptr. 672].) This is so even if the policyholder is a sophisticated insured. (AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 823.)

If particular policy language is ambiguous, it is to be resolved by interpreting the ambiguous provisions in accordance with the insured’s objectively reasonable expectations. (Bank of the West v. Superior Court, supra, 2 Cal.4th at pp. 1264-1265.) Only if application of this rule does not resolve the ambiguity will the policy provision be construed in favor of the insured. (Id. at p. 1265.)

Issue Group I: Lost Insurance Policy

Issue Group II: Bodily Injury Claims

A. Trigger and Scope of Coverage

Phase III of the coordinated proceedings below concerned the rights and obligations of insurers to indemnify and defend the manufacturers or distributors of asbestos or asbestos products that are, or have been, defendants in tens of thousands of lawsuits brought by persons who claim to have developed disabling and often fatal asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos products many years ago. It bears emphasizing that the issues do not pertain to the legal rights of those suffering from asbestos-related diseases to recover damages from asbestos manufacturers.

The principal issues before the trial court concerned the trigger and scope of coverage under the comprehensive general liability policies for asbestos-related bodily injury claims: What event triggers an insurer’s indemnification and defense obligations? And to what extent must policyholders share in the indemnity and defense costs?

In order to resolve these issues, the trial court heard extensive medical testimony and took documentary evidence concerning the pathogenesis of asbestos-related conditions. The trial court artfully described the insidious nature of asbestos: “Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which has long been known to man. Its principal use has been as an insulator against heat because it is incombustible in air. It has been used to insulate against heat since approximately 1866 and has been commercially produced since at least 1874. [Citation.] The health problem caused by asbestos is that when it is mined or used in the manufacturing process it produces quantities of asbestos dust composed of millions of tiny fibers which may be inhaled into the body by those working in and around it. Those fibers that avoid the body’s initial natural defense mechanisms are deposited in the human lung and remain there. The very quality that has made asbestos useful for so long, its indestructibility, also accounts for the problems that result in asbestos-related disease.”

The Medical Evidence

We adopt the trial court’s summary of the medical evidence: “Several diseases may result from exposure to asbestos. The most prevalent are asbestosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is a form of lung disease characterized by the permanent deposition of asbestos fibers in the lungs and the resultant scarring of the lungs’ alveoli (air sacs) and interstitium (the membrane through which gas exchange occurs between the alveoli and the blood). In the context of asbestos inhalation, bronchogenic carcinoma (lung cancer) refers to a malignant condition of cells which arises as the result of tissue scarring caused by asbestos. Mesothelioma is, similarly, a cancerous condition. It arises at the site of asbestos-caused scarring within the visceral pleura (the lining which covers the outer aspect of the lung) or the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity).

“While the disease processes are distinct, they share at least one characteristic which makes this Court’s interpretation of the policy language universally applicable to these diseases, as well as to other conditions which may arise from inhaling asbestos. That common element is that the diseases and the associated pathological processes occur because of the fibrosis induced by the inhaled asbestos.

“Fibrosis refers to the formation of fibrous tissue, and is more commonly called scarring. When associated with an external cut to the skin, fibrosis may be considered a necessary and helpful form of healing which restores the body to a functional—albeit altered—state. When associated with the inhalation of asbestos, however, fibrosis results in the impairment and destruction of the alveolar/capillary gas exchange units necessary to breathe. As such, and because of the irreversible nature of the fibrotic process on the lung tissue, fibrosis caused by the inhalation of asbestos is more appropriately characterized as a form of injury than of healing or repair.

“Fibrosis within the lungs occurs as part of the body’s reaction to the inhalation of foreign particulate matter. The indestructible nature of asbestos fibers which helped make asbestos such an attractive construction material makes it equally as detrimental to the body once inhaled. Once deposited in the lungs, the fibers tend to remain in the alveolar region and the lungs’ normal clearance mechanisms are ineffective.

“One clearance mechanism—and a key to the fibrotic process—involves a specialized form of white blood cell known as a macrophage. These cells naturally respond to foreign matter within the body and attempt to eliminate this matter from the body by engulfing (i.e., phagocytozing) and digesting the matter with their own secretions and enzymes. This process occurs on the cellular level, but is frustrated and unsuccessful in the context of asbestos fibers because of the macrophages’ inability effectively to engulf and digest the fibers.

“This, in turn, leads to a further and sustained inflammatory process. The inflammation becomes chronic as more macrophages and other white blood cells are attracted to the site of the asbestos fibers caused by the release of certain chemical substances by the macrophages which responded initially to the fibers. More macrophages are summoned, further frustrated phagocytosis occurs, and the cycle continues.

“Another result of the inflammation is that other cells, called fibroblasts, are summoned to the site of inflammation by a different chemical secretion (fibronectin) from the macrophages. Fibronectin not only attracts these fibroblasts, but also causes them to proliferate. The fibroblasts, once summoned, produce the collagen in the alveolar walls and the interstitium which constitutes fibrosis.

“This process—inhalation of asbestos fibers, the inflammatory reaction, and the resulting fibrosis—characterizes the disease asbestosis. When the fibrosis is extensive enough, i.e., when enough alveolar/capillary units have become fibrosed, clinical symptoms of asbestosis become apparent. Although there is no universal threshold for when such symptoms will become apparent, it is estimated that at least 100 million of the 300 million alveolar/ capillary units in the human body must be affected for a clinical diagnosis to occur.

“Bronchogenic carcinoma and mesothelioma arise from a malignant transformation of cells. The asbestos fibers and related fibrosis do not directly cause the malignant transformation but, rather, enhance the potential of other cancerous agents to cause such a transformation. The transformation occurs at the site of the fibrosis and the cancer develops therefrom.”

1. Trigger of Coverage

The relevant language of the standard form comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy reads as follows: “The company will pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury . . . caused by an occurrence . . . . [5D ‘Bodily injury’ means bodily injury, sickness, or disease sustained by any person. HQ ‘Occurrence’ means an accident, including injurious exposure to conditions, which results during the policy period in bodily injury . . . neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the insured.”

A recurring problem in interpreting standard CGL policies that provide coverage for injuries “caused by an occurrence” is determining what has come to be called the “trigger of coverage”—that is, the operative event which activates the insurer’s defense and indemnity obligations. As the Supreme Court recently explained, the word “trigger” is not found in the CGL policies themselves, nor does the Insurance Code define “trigger of coverage.” Instead, “trigger of coverage” is a term of convenience used to describe what must happen in the policy period to give rise to insurance coverage. (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645, 655, fn. 2.)

Case law has long established that the operative event triggering coverage is the injury. Because occurrence policies (as distinguished from claims-made policies) cover occurrences that result in injury “during the policy period,” the courts in California and elsewhere have concluded that the policies are invoked, or “triggered,” when the injury takes place. (American Cyanamid Co. v. American Home Assurance Co. (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 969, 979 [35 Cal.Rptr.2d 920]; Hallmark Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1988) 201 Cal.App.3d 1014, 1017 [247 Cal.Rptr. 638]; State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Longden (1987) 197 Cal.App.3d 226, 231 [242 Cal.Rptr. 726]; Schrillo Co. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. (1986) 181 Cal.App.3d 766, 773 [226 Cal.Rptr. 717]; Atlantic Mutual Ins. Co. v. Travelers Ins. Co. (1983) 147 Cal.App.3d 1054, 1056 [195 Cal.Rptr. 476]; Maples v. Aetna Cas. & Surety Co. (1978) 83 Cal.App.3d 641, 647 [148 Cal.Rptr. 80]; Remmer v. Glens Falls Indem. Co. (1956) 140 Cal.App.2d 84, 88 [295 P.2d 19]; see also Employers Casualty Co. v. Northwestern Nat. Ins. Group (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 462, 468-469 [167 Cal.Rptr. 296] disapproved on other grounds in In re Marriage of Arceneaux (1990) 51 Cal.3d 1130, 1137 [275 Cal.Rptr. 797, 800 P.2d 1227]; Chamberlin v. Smith (1977) 72 Cal.App.3d 835 [140 Cal.Rptr. 493]; 7A Appleman, Insurance Law & Practice (rev. ed. 1979) § 4501.03, p. 256; 11 Couch on Insurance (2d ed. 1982) § 44:8, p. 193; 43 Am.Jur.2d (1982 rev.) Insurance, § 243, pp. 323-324; Annot. (1985) 37 A.L.R.4th 382.)

In Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645, 669-670, the Supreme Court reaffirmed this rule and applied it for the first time to a case of continuous or progressively deteriorating injury. The court held that when the bodily injury or property damage continues throughout successive policy periods, all of the insured’s policies in effect during those periods are triggered. (Id. at pp. 685-689.) Coverage is not limited to the policy in effect at the time of the precipitating event or conditions. (Id. at pp. 669, 686.) Nor is coverage cut off once the injury or damage begins or becomes manifest. (See 10 Cal.4th at p. 677, fn. 17; id., at pp. 680, 686.)

Montrose involved property damage and human deaths resulting from the insured’s disposal of toxic or hazardous wastes. The time of the onset of the damage and injury was not in dispute; the underlying complaints specified, in one set of lawsuits, that the bodily injury and property damage commenced in 1956 and extended to the present, and in a second set of lawsuits, that the property contamination began in 1947 and continued throughout periods (1982-1986) when the policies of the insurer (Admiral) were in effect. (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at pp. 656-657, 659.)

In contrast, the timing of the commencement of the injuries here is not so definite. As the trial court explained, asbestos-related diseases are “insidious diseases with delayed manifestations. The original cause of each disease is the inhalation of asbestos fibers, but a victim is generally unaware of the development of such a disease until the victim or a physician detects signs or symptoms many years after the causative exposure.” Thus, the key question before the trial court in phase III with regard to the trigger of coverage was the point in time at which the injury takes place.

a. Precedent Cases

The courts have developed several different approaches to determine when bodily injury occurs in asbestos-related bodily injury cases. (See Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645, 673-685; Annot. (1993) 14 A.L.R.5th 695.)

1. Under the exposure theory, bodily injury is deemed to commence upon the claimant’s first exposure to asbestos, upon the claimant’s initial inhalation of asbestos fibers. (E.g., Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations (6th Cir. 1980) 633 F.2d 1212, 1218-1220, clarified 657 F.2d 814, cert. den. (1981) 454 U.S. 1109 [70 L.Ed.2d 650, 102 S.Ct. 686]; Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Sepco Corp. (11th Cir. 1985) 765 F.2d 1543; Porter v. American Optical Corp. (5th Cir. 1981) 641 F.2d 1128, cert. den. sub nom. Aetna Cas. & Surety Co. v. Porter (1981) 454 U.S. 1109 [70 L.Ed.2d 650, 102 S.Ct. 686]; Cole v. Celotex Corp. (La. 1992) 599 So.2d 1058, 1076-1077.)

2. Pursuant to the manifestation theory, no bodily injury occurs, and thus no insurance coverage is triggered, until the “asbestos-related disease became reasonably capable of medical diagnosis.” (Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. (1st Cir. 1982) 682 F.2d 12, 25, cert. den. (1983) 460 U.S. 1028 [75 L.Ed.2d 500, 103 S.Ct. 1279].) In adopting the manifestation theory, the Eagle-Picher court reasoned that the language of the policies distinguishes between the event which causes injury—the accident or exposure—and the resulting injury or disease. “[I]t is the resulting injury, not the exposure, which must take place ‘during the policy period’ in order to trigger coverage . . . .” (682 F.2d at p. 19.)

3. In Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America (D.C. Cir. 1981) 667 F.2d 1034 [215 App.D.C. 156], certiorari denied (1982) 455 U.S. 1007 [71 L.Ed.2d 875, 102 S.Ct. 1644], the court adopted a theory of continuous trigger or “triple triggers” whereby the asbestos injury is deemed a continuous process and all policies are triggered on a claim if they were in effect either during the exposure period, or at the time of manifestation, or at any time in between (the latency or “exposure-in-residence” period). (See also ACandS, Inc. v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co. (3d Cir. 1985) 764 F.2d 968.)

4. Under the injury-in-fact rule, coverage is triggered when the actual injury is shown, retroactively, to have occurred. (Abex Corp. v. Maryland Cas. Co. (D.C. Cir. 1986) 790 F.2d 119 [252 App.D.C. 297] [asbestos]; American Home Products Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. (2d Cir. 1984) 748 F.2d 760 [pharmaceuticals]; Maryland Cas. Co. v. W.R. Grace & Co. (S.D.N.Y. 1991) 794 F.Supp. 1206, 1215 [asbestos]; Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Abbott Lab., Inc. (D.Conn. 1986) 636 F.Supp. 546, 548-550 [DES].)

Like the manifestation theory, the injury-in-fact approach holds that mere exposure to asbestos during the policy period is not enough to trigger coverage: “The plain language of the definition of ‘occurrence’ used in the CGL policy requires exposure that ‘results, during the policy period, in bodily injury’ in order for an insurer to be obligated to indemnify the insured. The unambiguous meaning of these words is that an injury—and not mere exposure—must result during the policy period. The CGL policies expressly distinguish exposure from injury; to equate the two ... is to ignore this distinction. Any argument that mere exposure—without injury— triggers liability is simply unsound linguistically.” (Abex Corp. v. Maryland Cas. Co., supra, 790 F.2d at p. 127, italics in original; see also American Home Products Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., supra, 748 F.2d at p. 764.)

But in contrast to the manifestation trigger, the injury-in-fact approach acknowledges that injury may occur before the injury has become apparent. Under this approach, coverage is triggered by ‘“a real but undiscovered injury, proved in retrospect to have existed at the relevant time . . . irrespective of the time the injury became [diagnosable].’ ” (American Home Products Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., supra, 748 F.2d at p. 766.) That is, after an injury has been diagnosed, it may be inferred, from the nature of the gestation period and from the stage of the illness, that the harm actually began sometime earlier. (Id. at p. 765.)

As mentioned above, the California Supreme Court, after reviewing the various judicially recognized triggers, has concluded that a continuous trigger should be applied to claims of continuous or progressively detriorating damage or injury. (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645.) Yet, the Montrose court explicitly recognized that an injury-in-fact analysis is not inconsistent with a continuous trigger: “In the context of continuous or progressively deteriorating injuries, the injury-in-fact trigger, like the continuous injury trigger, affords coverage for continuing or progressive injuries occurring during successive policy periods subsequent to the established date of the initial injury-in-fact.” (Id. at p. 676.) That is, the continuous trigger pertains to the duration of coverage, providing coverage throughout successive policy periods. The injury-in-fact trigger establishes the onset of the injury, to determine when coverage begins. (See Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management (2d Cir. 1995) 73 F.3d 1178, 1194-1197.)

b. The Trial Court’s Decision

Based upon the extensive medical evidence, the trial court found “that bodily injury occurs during the exposure period, that it continues to occur during the latency period, even in the absence of further exposure, and that it continues to occur past the manifestation point, accompanied by sickness and disease, until the claimant’s death from the disease or other causes.” Accordingly, the court adopted a continuous trigger: “[A]ll of a policyholder’s policies in effect from first exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products until date of death or date of claim, whichever occurs first, are triggered with respect to an asbestos-related bodily injury claim.”

Yet, although the trial court concluded that a continuous trigger should apply, the court reached that conclusion through an injury-in-fact analysis. Unlike the court in Keene, supra, which deemed asbestos injury to be continuous, the trial court here relied upon medical evidence to make factual findings on the physiological processes that actually occur upon inhalation of asbestos fibers and continue until death.

In contrasting its decision with the decision in Zurich Ins. Co. v. Raymark Industries, supra, 118 Ill.2d 23 [514 N.E.2d 150], the trial court noted that the Zurich trial court had “concluded from the medical evidence that injury does not always occur in the absence of exposure. (See id., 514 N.E.2d at pp. 160-161.) This conclusion differs from that reached by this Court.”

In rejecting the “exposure theory,” the trial court found as follows: “[Although this Court agrees with the exposure theorists that ‘bodily injury’ occurs nearly simultaneously with inhalation, and therefore throughout the exposure period, this Court finds that new and additional ‘bodily injury’ continues to occur even past the cessation of exposure . . .

Further, in comparing its decision with that of American Home Prod. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co (S.D.N.Y. 1983) 565 F.Supp. 1485 affirmed as modified (2d Cir. 1984) 748 F.2d 760 (AHP), the trial court noted that the AHP court had declined to make a general declaration that every exposure to any of the drugs at issue causes injury and therefore triggers coverage. But the trial court found it could do so with respect to asbestos: “This Court, however, has received evidence which supports such a ‘general declaration’ as to when injury occurs, and has applied it generally to all claimants who suffer from asbestos-related ‘bodily injury.’ ” The trial court explained that “[t]he AHP decision, as modified, provides that coverage is triggered by ‘a real but undiscovered injury, proved in retrospect to have existed at the relevant time.’ (Supra, 748 F.2d at p. 766.) This Court simply proceeds one step further in its analysis, and applies the ‘injury in fact’ concept to the asbestos medical evidence, thereby establishing in retrospect that undiscovered injury existed during the asbestos exposure period and during the latency period in the absence of exposure.”

We find no error in the trial court’s use of an injury-in-fact analysis to apply a continuous trigger. (Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management, supra, 73 F.3d at pp. 1195-1196.) Indeed, we note that in Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at pp. 676-677, fn. 16, the Supreme Court acknowledged that claims involving asbestos-related diseases involve “unique facts” and the injury-irnfact trigger may be appropriate. Moreover, the court referred to our earlier (now vacated) opinion and observed that our affirmance of the trial court’s decision “appears largely consistent with [the Montrose] analysis of the applicable principles of third party CGL coverage . . . .” (Ibid.)

c. Arguments of Insurers

The insurers raise two principal arguments against the trial court’s trigger decision. First, the insurers dispute the trial court’s interpretation of “bodily injury.” Second, the insurers argue that the trial court’s continuous trigger decision improperly holds insurers liable even though the claimant had no contact with the policyholder’s products during the policy period. We disagree with the first argument but find some merit in the second, as we will explain below.

(1) Subclinical Changes

The insurers contend the trial court’s interpretation of bodily injury is contrary to the plain meaning of the words in that it equates bodily injury with “imperceptible subclinical cellular changes.” Although the insurers have now disavowed the manifestation theory, the lone support for the insurers’ argument is Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., supra, 682 F.2d 12, where the court held that “sub-clinical insults to the lungs” do not constitute an injury “until, if ever, they accumulate to become clinically evident or manifest.”

In Eagle-Picker, the court refused to adopt the exposure theory, noting that “it is uncontested that even sub-clinical injury to the lung does not occur simultaneously with the inhalation of asbestos. Nor is the existence of sub-clinical injury an inevitable by-product of exposure, since the body’s natural mechanisms may remove the fibers before they become embedded in the lungs.” (682 F.2d at p. 19, fn. omitted.) Likewise, in the present case, the insurers emphasize the medical evidence and the trial court’s finding that not every exposure to asbestos results in an asbestos-related injury.

Yet, while it may be that not every inhalation of asbestos fibers results in bodily injury, it can be said that every manifested asbestos-related injury resulted from inhalation of asbestos fibers. (See Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Sepco Corp., supra, 765 F.2d at pp. 1545-1546.) In the present case, the trial court necessarily took a retrospective point of view. In resolving the insurance coverage questions, the court was concerned only with individuals who have actually developed asbestos-related diseases, and for such claimants the court found that the evidence permitted the inference that injury took place in the past: “[T]he asbestos medical evidence [establishes] in retrospect that undiscovered injury existed during the asbestos exposure period and during the latency period in the absence of exposure.” (Italics added.)

The trial court’s continuous trigger decision, then, is based upon factual findings that for asbestos claimants an injury-in-fact took place during each triggered policy period, even though the injury was not diagnosable and compensable during the policy period. The trial court found it “sufficient that such injuries eventually became compensable, and this is, of course, true with respect to all claims for which insurers are called upon to indemnify policyholders.” We find no error in this retrospective approach. For purposes of determining insurance coverage, absolute precision is not required as to when the injury occurred. “[A] 11 that is necessary is reasonably reliable evidence that the injury, sickness, or disease more likely than not occurred during a period of coverage . . . .” (AHP, supra, 565 F.Supp. at p. 1509; accord, Abex Corp. v. Maryland Cas. Co., supra, 790 F.2d at p. 128.)

The insurers’ argument assumes that an injury does not occur until there is an impairment capable of detection. In the present case, however, the medical evidence established and the trial court found that impairment actually occurs even earlier: “[T]he physiological processes associated with the inhalation of asbestos . . . impair the gas exchange function of the lung cells and tissue. . . . almost immediately upon the inhalation and deposition of asbestos fibers into the lung, and slowly and continuously impair new portions of lung tissue throughout one’s life, even after exposure to asbestos ceases, . . . [involving] new injury to the cells, tissue and body.” Those factual findings, of course, are binding on this court.

It bears emphasizing that whether there is coverage for “bodily injury” is not the question here; it is undisputed that the CGL policies provide coverage for the asbestos-related injuries suffered by the claimants. The question before this court is when the injuries occurred. In contrast to the situation in Eagle-Picher, supra, where the court found no factual basis for the conclusion that bodily injury occurs upon exposure (Eagle-Picher, supra, 682 F.2d at p. 19, fn. 3), the trial court’s factual findings here, made after consideration of extensive medical testimony, amply support the conclusion that injury actually occurs upon exposure and continues until death. We therefore find no error in the trial court’s adoption of a continuous trigger. (See also Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management, supra, 73 F.3d 1178, 1196-1197; Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. United Ins. Co. (1994) 138 NJ. 437 [650 A.2d 974, 995]; J.H. France Refractories v. Allstate (1993) 534 Pa. 29, 626 A.2d 502, 506-507].)

In any event, the insurers’ approach would essentially render the asbestos manufacturers’ insurance coverage illusory, for by the time asbestos diseases caused detectable impairments (in the 1970’s), insurance companies ceased issuing policies that adequately covered asbestos-related disease. Hence, the insurers’ theory would deprive the manufacturers of coverage for product liability injuries of which they were unaware during the policy periods. (E.g., Hancock Laboratories, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. (9th Cir. 1985) 777 F.2d 520, 525; Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at pp. 1045-1046; Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d at p. 1219.)

Moreover, there is nothing in the language of the policies to require as a condition of coverage that the injury be discovered at any point in time. As the Supreme Court recognized in Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at pp. 688-689, to read the CGL occurrence policies to provide coverage only when the injury becomes apparent during the policy period would unfairly transform the policies into “claims-made” policies. (See also American Home Products Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., supra, 748 F.2d at p. 764; Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d at p. 1219; Hartford County v. Hartford Mut. Ins. (1992) 327 Md. 418 [610 A.2d 286, 294-295].)

In short, we find the trial court’s continuous trigger decision well supported both by the unique facts of asbestos-related bodily injuries and by the existing case law. We uphold that decision.

(2) Contact With Policyholder’s Product

The trial court’s judgment states that all of a policyholder’s policies are triggered from the claimant’s first exposure to any asbestos product until the date of death or claim. We agree with the insurers that this aspect of the trigger decision is overbroad. Our analysis of this point is intertwined with the analysis of scope of coverage and will be presented in part 2.b below.

2. Scope of Coverage

Under the trial court’s continuous trigger decision, multiple, successive policies of a policyholder are likely to be triggered on any single bodily injury claim. Two questions emerge concerning the extent or “scope” of coverage of these multiple insurers: Should the responsibility for indemnification be apportioned among the insurers? And should the policyholder be required to share in the indemnification and defense costs if the policyholder was uninsured or self-insured for certain periods? To facilitate analysis of these issues, we draw a distinction between (1) the obligations of successive insurance carriers toward a single manufacturer-policyholder, and (2) the obligations of successive carriers when multiple asbestos manufacturers are held liable on a single claim.

a. Obligations of Successive Insurers of a Single Asbestos Manufacturer-Policyholder

(1) Apportionment Among Insurers

The standard CGL insurance policies require the insurers to indemnify the policyholder only if bodily injury occurs during the policy period: “The company will pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury . . . caused by an occurrence ....[*][] ‘Occurrence’ means an accident, including injurious exposure to conditions, which results during the policy period in bodily injury . . . .”

Thus, the question raised by the insurance companies is whether liability should be apportioned among the insurers based on their periods of coverage. As will be seen in the discussion below, the trial court ruled that the policyholder must be indemnified by one insurer for the full extent of the loss up to the policy’s limits, but with liability ultimately being apportioned among all insurers based upon the policy limits and the years of coverage. We affirm that decision.

Liable “in Full”

In phase III, the trial court concluded that each policy triggered by an asbestos-related bodily injury claim has an independent obligation to respond “in full” to a claim. In reaching that conclusion, the trial court relied primarily upon the insurers’ obligations under the CGL policies to pay for “all sums which the insured shall become liable to pay as damages.”

The trial court’s decision follows several out-of-state asbestos cases. In Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d 1034, the court held as follows: “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. . . . As a result [of our continuous trigger decision], when Keene is held liable for an asbestos-related disease, only part of that 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 . . . .” (Id. at p. 1047.) “Once triggered, each policy covers Keene’s liability. There is nothing in the policies 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.” (Id. at p. 1048; see also ACandS, Inc. v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co., supra, 764 F.2d at p. 974; Zurich Ins. Co. v. Raymark Industries, supra, 514 N.E.2d at p. 165; Monsanto Co. v. C.E. Heath Comp. & Liability (Del. 1994) 652 A.2d 30, 34-35; J.H. France Refractories v. Allstate, supra, 626 A.2d 502, 507-508.)

We believe the California Supreme Court’s decision in Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645, supports this reasoning. In distinguishing third party liability policies from first party liability policies, the court observed that under third party liability policies, if coverage is ultimately established, the insurer must indemnify the insured for “all sums” which the insured becomes obligated to pay. (10 Cal.4th at p. 665.) Moreover, in concluding that a continuous trigger should be applied, the court on two occasions cited with approval the opinion in Gruol Construction Co. v. Insurance Co. of No. America (1974) 11 Wn.App. 632 [524 P.2d 427], in which the Washington Court of Appeal applied a continuous trigger in a case involving progressive property damage. (10 Cal.4th at pp. 677-678, 681.) In both references to the Gruol case, the Montrose court observed that under a continuing injury theory, an insurer may become liable for the entire loss up to the policy limits even though the continuing injury may extend over several policy periods. (Id. at pp. 678, 681.)

Furthermore, in support of its conclusion that a continuous trigger should be applied, the Montrose court relied upon existing case law holding that coverage for a manifested loss is not terminated by the expiration of the policy; coverage continues until the damage is complete. (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at pp. 680, 686, citing California Union Ins. Co. v. Landmark Ins. Co. (1983) 145 Cal.App.3d 462, 475 [193 Cal.Rptr. 461]; Snapp v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. (1962) 206 Cal.App.2d 827, 831-832 [24 Cal.Rptr. 44]; and Harman v. American Casualty Co. of Reading, Pa. (S.D.Cal. 1957) 155 F.Supp. 612.) As the Montrose court put it, “an insurer on the risk when continuous or progressively deteriorating damage or injury first manifests itself remains obligated to indemnify the insured for the entirety of the ensuing damage or injury.” (10 Cal.4th at p. 686, italics added.)

Apportionment

At the same time that the trial court ruled each insurer must respond “in full,” the court also ruled that “the obligation to respond in full is subject to the operation of policy limits, deductibles, applicable exclusions, applicable ‘other insurance’ clauses, provisions which make certain policies’ coverage ‘excess’ to that of other policies, and any rights to equitable contribution from the issuers of other policies triggered by the same claim.”

That decision, too, is consistent with language in the Montrose case: “Allocation of the cost of indemnification once several insurers have been found liable to indemnify the insured for all or some portion of a continuing injury or progressively deteriorating property damage requires application of principles of contract law to the express terms and limitations of the various policies of insurance on the risk. [Citing Keene and Forty-Eight Insulations,.]” (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 681, fn. 19.)

In Keene, the court held that liability among insurers must be allocated pursuant to the “other insurance” clauses: “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. . . . Our holding each insurer fully liable to Keene [ ] 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. . . . 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.” (667 F.2d at p. 1050, fn. omitted.)

The Keene court did not specify how the “other insurance” clauses would serve to allocate liability among the insurers. In the present case, however, in phase IV, the trial court concluded that the presence of “other insurance” clauses in the policies had the effect of requiring a pro rata apportionment among multiple insurers whose policies were triggered successively on the same claim. The court employed an apportionment method based on the respective policy limits multiplied by the years of coverage: “When more than one policy is triggered by a claim, defense and indemnity costs shall be allocated among all triggered policies according to applicable ‘per occurrence’ policy limits, multiplied by years of coverage. When a policy does not contain a ‘per occurrence’ limit, the ‘per person’ limit shall be used in this calculation.

“This Court finds that the most equitable method of allocation is proration on the basis of policy limits, multiplied by years of coverage. This method is consistent with the policy language in that it takes policy limits into consideration. Typically, a pro rata ‘other insurance’ clause provides for proration according to ‘the applicable limit of liability.’ This method also reflects the fact that higher premiums are generally paid for higher ‘per person’ or ‘per occurrence’ limits. Since some policies are in effect for more than one year, and injury occurs during every year from first exposure to asbestos until death (phase III Decision at p. 42), multiplying the policy limits by years of coverage results in a more equitable allocation than proration based on policy limits alone. Thus, when a particular claim triggers more than one policy, each insurer’s share of liability shall be determined by the proportion that each policy’s applicable ‘per occurrence’ limits multiplied by years the policy was in effect bears to the sum total of the applicable ‘per occurrence’ limits of all triggered policies multiplied by the years each policy was in effect. When a policy does not contain a ‘per occurrence’ limit, the ‘per person’ limit shall be used in this calculation.”

This allocation procedure does not affect the obligation of the insurers to respond in full: “a policyholder may obtain full indemnification and defense from one insurer, leaving the targeted insurer to seek contribution from other insurers covering the same loss.”

The trial court’s ruling on the method of apportionment is not challenged on appeal. We note that although the method is nontraditional, it is nonetheless sound. The general rule, when multiple policies share the same risk but have inconsistent “other insurance” clauses, is to prorate according to the policy limits. (See Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Transport Indent. Co. (1972) 6 Cal.3d 496, 507 [99 Cal.Rptr. 617, 492 P.2d 673]; Employers Reinsurance Corp. v. Phoenix Ins. Co. (1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 545, 557 [230 Cal.Rptr. 792]; CNA Casualty of California v. Seaboard Surety Co. (1986) 176 Cal.App.3d 598, 620 [222 Cal.Rptr. 276].) Courts in other jurisdictions have taken different approaches. Most prominent among the alternatives is an allocation based upon time on the risk—i.e., the number of years an insurer

covered the continuous loss. (E.g., Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d 1212.)

The apportionment formula used by the trial court in the present case—combining the policy limit formula with the time on the risk approach—was advocated by some insurers in CNA Casualty of California v. Seaboard Surety Co., supra, 176 Cal.App.3d at pages 619-620, with respect to defense costs. The court rejected the argument and used a straight policy limit approach. But in doing so the court noted that the Supreme Court had declined to formulate a definitive rule “in light of varying equitable considerations which may arise” in particular cases. (Signal Companies, Inc. v. Harbor Ins. Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 359, 369 [165 Cal.Rptr. 799, 612 P.2d 889, 19 A.L.R.4th 75].) Quoting from an earlier case, the Supreme Court explained the need for “equitable” considerations: “ ‘The reciprocal rights and duties of several insurers who have covered the same event do not arise out of contract, for their agreements are not with each other .... Their respective obligations flow from equitable principles designed to accomplish ultimate justice in the bearing of a specific burden. . . (27 Cal.3d at p. 369.) The CNA court, therefore, acknowledged that in an appropriate case the scope of an insured’s coverage could be affected by such factors as the insurer’s time on the risk. (176 Cal.App.3d at p. 620.) And, indeed, in the present case, the trial court found its method of allocation, based upon both the policy limits and the time on the risk, to be the “most equitable.”

Given that the trial court’s method of apportionment is not challenged on appeal, we find no error in the decision to hold each policy responsible in full subject to such apportionment. (See also Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. United Ins. Co., supra, 650 A.2d 974, 993-995, proposing the same method of allocation.) We are not persuaded otherwise by Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d 1212, in which the trial court employed an exposure trigger and prorated liability among the multiple, successive insurers who were on the risk while the claimant was exposed to asbestos. On appeal, no question was raised concerning this proration; the dispute focused on prorating the costs of defense. The appellate court affirmed, finding the exposure theory to provide a reasonable means of proration: “An insurer contracts to pay the entire cost of defending a claim which has arisen within the policy period. The insurer has not contracted to pay defense costs for occurrences which took place outside the policy period. . . . [H [The] exposure theory . . . establishes that a reasonable means of proration is available. . . . [Indemnity costs can be allocated by the number of years that a worker inhaled asbestos fibers.” (Id. at pp. 1224-1225.) Although other courts using an exposure theory have similarly prorated liability among the insurers (Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Sepco Corp., supra, 765 F.2d at p. 1544; Porter v. American Optical Corp., supra, 641 F.2d at p. 1145 [the rule of proration among insurers is “logically consequent” to the exposure theory]), we agree with the Illinois Supreme Court that a pro rata approach does not apply to defense costs or indemnity if the exposure theory is not used. (Zurich Ins. Co. v. Raymark Industries, supra, 514 N.E.2d 150, 165.) In finding that asbestos injuries continue to occur even after exposure to asbestos ceases, the trial court necessarily rejected the underlying temporal premise of the exposure theory, that injury occurs and the insurers’ obligations are triggered only during the claimant’s period of exposure to asbestos.

Moreover, the rule of proration adopted by Forty-Eight Insulations and its progeny fails to recognize that the event which triggers coverage does not define the scope of coverage. Although each policy is triggered only by the occurrence of an injury during the policy period, once a policy is triggered, the policy obligates the insurer to pay “all sums” for which the policyholder becomes liable. There is nothing in the policies limiting the scope of coverage to that portion of a continuous injury that developed during the policy period. (Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. North America, supra, 667 F.2d at p. 1049.) “As long as there was either inhalation exposure or exposure in residence during a policy period, and as long as [the policyholder] must pay damages as a result, the insurer must indemnify [the policyholder] for whatever damages it must pay.” (Id. at pp. 1044-1045, fn. 20; see also J.H. France Refractories v. Allstate, supra, 626 A.2d 502, 508.)

In Montrose, the Supreme Court criticized language in California Union Ins. Co. v. Landmark Ins. Co., supra, 145 Cal.App.3d at page 478, which held the successive insurers liable “jointly and severally” for the full amount of the damage. (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 681, fn. 19.) In the present case, the trial court correctly explained that the doctrine of joint and several liability has no application to the obligations of successive insurers of a single policyholder. Nevertheless, the insurance companies insist that the trial court’s decision on the scope of coverage imposes joint and several liability upon the insurers. It does not. The trial court’s decision ensures that the policyholder is indemnified by one insurer for the full extent of the loss up to the policy’s limits, but apportions liability among all insurers whose policies were triggered by the claimant’s asbestos-related bodily injury. We find nothing erroneous in that decision.

(2) Effect of Policyholder’s Self-insurance

In phase III, the trial court concluded that “the policyholders do not have an obligation to share pro rata in indemnification and defense costs because of any uninsured or self-insured periods of time simultaneous with the ‘occurrence’ of bodily injury pertaining to a claim . . . .” The insurers challenge that ruling. The insurers argue that they are obligated to pay only for injuries that took place during the policy periods; thus the manufacturers must pay for injuries that occurred during periods in which the manufacturers were uninsured or self-insured.

The leading support for the insurers’ position is provided by those cases in which the courts apportioned coverage among insurers based upon the time each policy was on the risk. Those courts then included the policyholder in the allocation scheme and held the policyholder responsible for a pro rata share for periods of self-insurance or no insurance. (Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management, supra, 73 F.3d at pp. 1202-1204; Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Sepco Corp., supra, 765 F.2d at p. 1544; Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d at p. 1225; NSP v. Fidelity & Cas. Co. of New York (Minn. 1994) 523 N.W.2d 657, 662; see also IMCERA Group, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. (1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 699, 736-743 [50 Cal.Rptr.2d 583] [defense costs] review granted May 22, 1996 (S052878); Gulf Chemical & Metallurgical v. Associated Metals (5th Cir. 1993) 1 F.3d 365, 372.)

We decline to follow this approach, for we conclude that a distinction must be drawn between apportionment among multiple insurers and apportionment between an insurer and its insured. This distinction was noted in Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co., supra, 10 Cal.4th 645, 665: “In suits between an insured and an insurer to determine coverage, interpretation of the policy language . . . will typically take precedence. ... [^] In contrast, where two or more CGL carriers turn to the courts to allocate the costs of indemnity for a paid loss, different contractual and policy considerations may come into play in the effort to apportion such costs among the insurers. The task may require allocation of contribution amongst all insurers on the risk in proportion to their respective policies’ liability limits (such as deductibles and ceilings) or the time periods covered under each such policy.”

As we have already explained in sub part (1) above, the trial court apportioned the liability of the successive insurers based upon both the policy limits and the time on the risk. That apportionment among multiple insurers, however, has no bearing upon the obligations of the insurers to the insured. The insurance policies obligate the insurers to pay on behalf of a policyholder “all sums” that the policyholder becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury during the policy period. We interpret this language to mean that once coverage is triggered, the insurer’s obligation to the policyholder is to cover the policyholder’s liability “in full” up to the policy limits. It is irrelevant that only part of the asbestos-related disease developed during any single policy period or during a period in which the manufacturer had no insurance. The logical consequence of this ruling is that the policyholder is covered (up to the policy limits) for the full extent of its liability and need not pay a pro rata share. (ACandS, Inc. v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co., supra, 764 F.2d at p. 974; Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at pp. 1047-1049; Zurich Ins. Co. v. Raymark Industries, supra, 514 N.E.2d at p. 165; J.H. France Refractories v. Allstate, supra, 626 A.2d 502, 508; but see Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at p. 1058 (conc. opn. of Wald, J.).)

We therefore affirm the trial court’s decision in phase III relieving the policyholders from any responsibility to share in the loss for periods of no insurance.

b. Obligations of Insurers Covering Multiple Tortfeasors on a Claim

When a claimant was exposed to products of more than one manufacturer such that an asbestos manufacturer-policyholder is but one of several tortfeasors held liable to an injured victim, the question arises as to how liability should be apportioned among the defendant-manufacturers, especially if the claimant was minimally exposed to one manufacturer’s product and extensively exposed to another’s.

No general statement can be made about the allocation of tort liability of multiple asbestos manufacturers. In some cases, the manufacturers may be held jointly and severally liable to the injured claimant, despite the claimant’s relatively short period of exposure to a particular defendant’s product. (Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corporation (5th Cir. 1973) 493 F.2d 1076 cert. den. (1974) 419 U.S. 869 [42 L.Ed.2d 107, 95 S.Ct. 127].) In other cases, upon adequate proof of the claimant’s varying exposures to different products, damages may be apportioned among the defendants. (Moore v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (5th Cir. 1986) 781 F.2d 1061; see Prosser & Keeton on Torts (5th ed. 1984) § 52, p. 352; 3 Harper et al., The Law of Torts (2d ed. 1986), § 10.1, p. 1.) In some jurisdictions, the market share doctrine may be applied, at least where the claimant was exposed to fungible asbestos products (Wheeler v. Raybestos-Manhattan (1992) 8 Cal.App.4th 1152 [11 Cal.Rptr.2d 109]), making the manufacturers only severally liable, based upon each manufacturer’s share of the national market at the time of the plaintiff’s exposure to the product. (Brown v. Superior Court (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1049, 1072-1075 [245 Cal.Rptr. 412, 751 P.2d 470]; Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories (1980) 26 Cal.3d 588 [163 Cal.Rptr. 132, 607 P.2d 924, 2 A.L.R.4th 1061], cert. den. (1980) 449 U.S. 912 [66 L.Ed.2d 140, 101 S.Ct. 285].)

It bears emphasizing that questions concerning the nature and extent of the tort liability of the asbestos manufacturers are not involved in this litigation. Those questions must be resolved in the underlying injury suits. The question here is the extent of the indemnity obligations of the insurers toward their policyholders. The contractual obligations of insurers to a single manufacturer-policyholder are separate and distinct from the tort liability of multiple asbestos manufacturers to an asbestos claimant. (Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at p. 1051; Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d at p. 1225.) No matter what the tort liability of an asbestos manufacturer—whether joint and several, proportionate to fault or proportionate to market share—the indemnity obligations of its insurers are as set forth in part 2.a above: to respond in full to the policyholder’s liability obligations up to the policy’s limits, subject to apportionment pursuant to “other insurance” clauses. (See Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at pp. 1050-1051, 1051 fn. 39.)

The insurers, however, have raised a trigger question which arises when multiple asbestos manufacturers are held liable on a single claim and each manufacturer is insured by multiple, successive policies: For purposes of deciding which of a manufacturer-policyholder’s successive policies cover the manufacturer’s liability on the claim, is insurance coverage triggered if the claimant was first exposed to the policyholder’s product after the insurer’s policy had expired? That is, does an insurer have any indemnity obligation if the policyholder’s product was not involved in the claimant’s injury during the policy period?

The trial court’s trigger decision states that all of a policyholder’s policies are triggered upon the claimant’s exposure to any asbestos product. The effect of this decision is to trigger an insurer’s indemnity obligations even if the claimant was not exposed to the policyholder’s product until after the insurer’s policy period had expired. For example, if a claimant was first exposed to asbestos products of manufacturer A in 1957 but was not exposed to manufacturer B’s asbestos products until 1967, the trial court’s decision would make policies insuring manufacturer B covering the period from 1957-1966 triggered: the 1957 policy by virtue of the claimant’s exposure to asbestos and the 1958-1966 policies by virtue of the latent development of asbestos disease. (Policies insuring manufacturer B from 1967 to the date of claim or death would, of course, also be triggered by the continuous development of asbestos disease.)

In this respect, the trial court’s decision runs counter to the decision in Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d 1034. After concluding that insurance coverage is continuously triggered from the point of exposure to the point of manifestation, and after concluding that each successive insurer must indemnify the policyholder in full, subject to apportionment under the “other insurance” provisions, the Keene court went on to hold that an insurance company has no liability if it can prove that the claimant was not exposed to the manufacturer-policyholder’s product either during the policy period or before the policy period. “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. 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.” (Id. at p. 1052.)

Although the above quoted portion of the Keene decision purports to pertain to the allocation of liability among insurers, it effectively serves to qualify the trigger of coverage. The Keene court held that there is no coverage unless the injury resulted from exposure to the policyholder’s products. “If [there was no inhalation of Keene’s asbestos during or before an insurer’s policy period], then that company will be free of liability.” (667 F.2d at at p. 1052.) Indeed, despite its rejection of the exposure theory for purposes of triggering coverage, the Keene court recognized that the time of the claimant’s exposure to the policyholder’s products is relevant to the trigger of coverage: “[The full extent of the claimant’s exposure to asbestos] is essential to determining which policies cover Keene’s liability.” (Id. at at p. 1051.)

On this point, the Keene court cited and followed the decision in Ins. Co. North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, supra, 633 F.2d 1212, even though Forty-Eight Insulations had applied an exposure trigger. (Keene Corp. v. Ins. Co. of North America, supra, 667 F.2d at p. 1052, fn. 42.) In Forty-Eight Insulations, the court recognized the basic contract principle that an insurance policy provides coverage only for injuries resulting from the policyholder’s own products, and the cou