Exerpt from Section 460.4-2

ISO HO 2000 SPECIAL HOMEOWNERS COVERAGE FORM ANALYSIS HO 00 03 10 00

5. Personal liability (Coverage E) and Medical Payments (Coverage F) do not apply to “bodily injury” or “property damage”:

a. that an “insured” expects or intends

Example: Scenario A: 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.

This exclusion has been modified under the HO 2000 edition of the Special Form policy. The latest edition adds more wording to be certain an insured understands that 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.

Example: Scenario B: 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.

There is an important exception to this exclusion. When injury results from an insured acting to protect persons or property, the loss is covered IF it only involved use of reasonable force.

Example: Scenario C: 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.

Exerpt from Section 451.4-2

HO 0001—AAIS BASIC FORM HOMEOWNERS ANALYSIS

Exclusions That Apply To Coverages L (Personal Liability) and M (Medical Payments to Others)

This policy does not apply to:

· bodily injury or property damage expected by, directed by, or intended by an insured, as a result of a criminal act of an insured, or the result of an intentional and malicious act by or at the direction of an insured

Note: This exclusion applies even if the bodily injury or property damage that occurs is different than what was expected by, directed by, or intended by the insured, or if someone suffers the bodily injury or property damage other than the person or persons expected by, directed by, or intended by the insured.

This exclusion makes an exception for bodily injury or property damage that is caused by an insured using reasonable force to protect people or property.

Example: Let’s revisit an earlier example. A drunk driver is meandering home from a party. This time when he falls asleep, he runs off the road and hits a utility pole that sits on the corner of the Brideluvs’ front lawn. The pole is bent severely enough to snap the power line that’s connected to the Brideluvs’ home. Again, the accident occurs at 2:30 a.m. and there isn’t a loud crash, so the Brideluvs continue their sleep Again, the Brideluvs are upset because an ice sculpture in their extra freezer has completely melted. The water has leaked out from their freezer and soaked into their wood parquet flooring. The Brideluvs wake up and discover the disaster and they decide to postpone the wedding. The bride-to-be, Whiplash Brideluv, is furious! She notices that the drunk driver is outside, leaning against his car. She runs out, yelling at him. She reaches out and jabs her finger to his chest. Whiplash continues to poke him and the driver backs away from her. As she pokes him again, the driver loses his balance, spins around and falls, sprawling, face first into his car bumper. Even though Whiplash only meant to give the driver a tongue-lashing, the policy will not provide coverage for the injuries. They were connected with her verbal attack and jabbing.

Example: Max D. Mentid had enough of his neighbor, Chuck. Their township has strict rules on how many bags of leaves can be put out for trash pick-up and, for three straight weeks, Chuck has sneaked several bags onto Max’s pile. Tired of being ignored, Max decides on a prank. Since Chuck leaves his car in his driveway, Max lets the air out of one of the front tires. The next morning, Chuck pulls out into their busy street but since the car doesn’t respond normally (due to the flat tire), Chuck moves too slowly and causes a crash. Max apologizes because he only meant to inconvenience Chuck, not to injure Chuck or to cause damage to the car and driver that crash into Chuck’s hobbled car. The policy will not pay for the damages to the cars or any injured drivers.