Insurance Defense and Coverage
Exclusions and Special Issues
The exclusion removes coverage for injury arising out of actual or threatened abuse or molestation, and typically extends to claims of negligent employment, supervision, or retention of the perpetrator.
Some policies substitute a sublimit rather than a complete exclusion.
Alternative Names:
Sexual Abuse Exclusion, Molestation Exclusion
Why it Matters?
This exclusion determines whether coverage exists for the highest-severity claims in long-term care, education, religious, and youth organization accounts. Because it typically reaches the institution's own negligent supervision, an organization can face catastrophic exposure with no coverage at all. Where a sublimit applies instead, it is frequently far below the realistic verdict range, which makes confirming its amount an early priority in any such claim.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does the exclusion cover the institution's own negligence?
What if a sublimit applies instead?
