(July, 2017)
SECTION II - LIABILITY COVERAGES
E. Personal liability (Coverage E) and
Medical Payments (Coverage F) do not apply to “bodily injury” or “property
damage”:
1. Expected or
Intended Injury
There is no
coverage for any injury an “insured” expects or intends
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Example: Scenario 1: Your client’s
18 year old son (who meets the definition of an “insured”) and the next door
neighbor’s son have been fighting for some time now. One night, while the
neighbors are away, your client’s son sneaks over to the neighbor’s house and
breaks all of the windows. Upon finding out, you are in a hurry to make
amends to the neighbor and give him/her the number of your insurance company.
Unfortunately, since your son intended the damage, there is no coverage under
your homeowner’s policy.
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Related Court
Case: “Porch Brawl
Triggers Coverage Dispute”
Intentional acts
are excluded EVEN if the property damage or bodily injury is different in the
kind or degree than what an insured hoped or expected would occur, or it is
suffered by a different party or property than what an insured either expected
or hoped.
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Example: Scenario 2: Your client’s
18 year old son (an “insured”) and the next door neighbor’s son have been
fighting. Again, during the night, your client’s son sneaks over to the
neighbor’s house and breaks all of the windows. The son is shocked when he
later finds out that one of the rocks he used to break a window also broke a
person’s skull. Your client files a claim since your son NEVER intended to
hurt ANYONE. Unfortunately, although the son testifies that he did not mean
to harm any person, there is no coverage since the loss originated from an
intentional action.
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There is an
important exception to this exclusion. When bodily injury or property damage
results from an insured acting to protect persons or property, the loss is
covered IF it only involved use of reasonable force.
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Example: Scenario 3: Your client’s
18 year old son (an “insured”) comes home in time to see some stranger climb
out of the next door neighbor’s window with a large bag. The son tackles the
person who, in the fall, suffers a broken arm and a severely bruised
forehead. It turns out that the "stranger" was the owner of the
home. He was coming out the window because he lost his key to his home's
double-door deadbolt security locks. The enraged neighbor sues your client
for his injuries. Although the client’s son FULLY INTENDED to stop a person
he thought was a thief, the claim was a result of an attempt to protect
property; so the insurance policy would respond to the loss.
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Note: The 05 11
added property damage coverage to the exception. Prior editions covered only
bodily injury. So in the example above any property damage caused when the 18
year old son tackled his neighbor is also covered.
