Cosmopolitan Mutual Insurance Company and Essex County News Company, Now Doing Business as Newark Newsdealers Supply…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that when two automobile liability policies each contain an "excess over any other valid and collectible insurance" clause, the clauses are mutually repugnant and neither policy can be deemed primary; consequently each insurer must share the loss. The court further held that the statutory requirement that a motor‑vehicle renter carry liability insurance does not make that policy primary, and, absent a contractual pro‑rata provision, the loss must be apportioned equally between the insurers.