Insurance Defense and Coverage
Exclusions and Special Issues
This exclusion removes coverage for bodily injury or property damage expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured. Most forms except injury resulting from reasonable force used to protect persons or property.
The analysis focuses on whether the injury was intended, not merely whether the act was intentional.
Alternative Names:
Intentional Acts Exclusion, Expected or Intended Exclusion
Why it Matters?
The distinction between intentional acts and intended injury is the entire battleground, since an insured who deliberately punched someone may not have intended the resulting brain injury. Jurisdictions differ on whether intent to injure is inferred as a matter of law from certain conduct, particularly assault and sexual misconduct. The exclusion also interacts with the occurrence requirement, since both address fortuity from different directions.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does an intentional act always trigger the exclusion?
Is intent ever inferred as a matter of law?
