{"id":4846,"date":"2015-12-10T06:07:10","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T06:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/469899a3-97a5-4c9b-8d86-b9629724411a.cc10.conves.io\/?p=4846"},"modified":"2015-12-10T06:07:10","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T06:07:10","slug":"soyou-used-your-glock-to-stop-a-criminal-invasion-at-your-home-how-does-your-homeowners-policy-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swflinsurance.com\/soyou-used-your-glock-to-stop-a-criminal-invasion-at-your-home-how-does-your-homeowners-policy-respond\/","title":{"rendered":"So\u2026You used your Glock to stop a Criminal Invasion at your home\u2026.How does your Homeowners Policy respond?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my insureds has purchased a hand gun, taken a gun safety course and obtained a concealed weapon permit. She wants to know how her homeowners and umbrella policies would respond if she used the weapon in self-defense to protect herself, her family or their possessions from an assailant.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the subjects of guns and weapons being on the news everyday, it is important to know how your Homeowners Policy will respond if you use your weapon to defend your family and property. Many insurance companies today have filed policy forms with their own unique language.<\/p>\n

The most likely candidate for a claim denial is the \u201cintentional loss\u201d exclusion found in almost all Liability policy forms: <\/strong> <\/p>\n

Expected Or Intended Injury Exclusion Clause: Personal Injury and Medical Payments to Others do not apply to \u201cbodily injury\u201d or \u201cproperty damage\u201d which is expected or intended by an \u201cinsured\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However the \u201cReasonable Force\u201d exception language may appear in some policy forms. The exception would read like this, \u201cThis Exclusion E.1. does not apply to \u201cbodily injury\u201d resulting from the use of reasonable force by an \u201cinsured\u201d to protect persons or property\u201d.<\/p>\n

What constitutes \u201creasonable\u201d force? That can\u2019t be answered until the occurrence takes place and the facts are known, so it\u2019s impossible to say absolutely whether the policy would respond to a claim where a gun was used in self-defense.<\/p>\n

Since facts are ultimately decided by juries in the case of litigation that goes to trial, it\u2019s likely the insurer would be obligated under this language to tender a defense. However, what may or may not be covered will depend on the unique facts and circumstances of each case, so all you can do is point to this policy provision with the caveat that other exclusions might be triggered as well.<\/p>\n

If the \u201cself-defense\u201d exception above isn\u2019t included in the \u201cintentional loss\u201d exclusion in the subject policy\u2014and it\u2019s often not in older ISO or proprietary company forms\u2014then it probably doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s in self-defense. If you shoot someone deliberately, for whatever reason, that\u2019s an intentional loss and likely excluded under such policies. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A possible exception to that could be if there was no intent or expectation of serious injury or death\u2014but even that would be a real stretch. Keep in mind that this entire discussion is really not new. For decades, many business owners have kept the proverbial sawed-off shotgun under the counter. Like ISO\u2019s HO policy, their CGL policy has a virtually identical exclusion and exception that has been discussed for years by commercial lines practitioners.<\/p>\n

Homeowners and Umbrella Policies are not commodities and you MUST understand your policy language. <\/strong>As for umbrella or excess policies, it all depends on the precise language of the form, which can vary dramatically from one insurer to another.<\/p>\n

And be wary of any standalone \u201cgun liability\u201d policies. Many of them may be so restrictive that very little coverage is actually provided.<\/p>\n

Call SWFL Insurance Agency for further discussion and a review of your present coverage. 239-265-9577<\/a><\/p>\n

You can see a discussion of The State of Florida Justification For the Use of Force & Deadly Force at the SWFL Agency Blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my insureds has purchased a hand gun, taken a gun safety course and obtained a concealed weapon permit. She wants to know how her homeowners and umbrella policies would respond if she used the weapon in self-defense to protect herself, her family or their possessions from an assailant. With the subjects of guns and weapons being on the news everyday, it is important to know how your Homeowners Policy will respond if you use your weapon to defend your family and property. Many insurance companies today have filed policy forms with their own unique language. The most likely candidate for a claim denial is the \u201cintentional loss\u201d exclusion found in almost all Liability policy forms: Expected Or Intended Injury Exclusion Clause: Personal Injury and Medical Payments to Others do not apply to \u201cbodily injury\u201d or \u201cproperty damage\u201d which is expected or intended by an \u201cinsured\u201d. However the \u201cReasonable Force\u201d exception language may appear in some policy forms. The exception would read like this, \u201cThis Exclusion E.1. does not apply to \u201cbodily injury\u201d resulting from the use of reasonable force by an \u201cinsured\u201d to protect persons or property\u201d. What constitutes \u201creasonable\u201d force? That can\u2019t be answered until the occurrence takes place and the facts are known, so it\u2019s impossible to say absolutely whether the policy would respond to a claim where a gun was used in self-defense. Since facts are ultimately decided by juries in the case of litigation that goes to trial, it\u2019s likely the insurer would be obligated under this language to tender a defense. However, what may or may not be covered will depend on the unique facts and circumstances of each case, so all you can do is point to this policy provision with the caveat that other exclusions might be triggered as well. If the \u201cself-defense\u201d exception above isn\u2019t included in the \u201cintentional loss\u201d exclusion in the subject policy\u2014and it\u2019s often not in older ISO or proprietary company forms\u2014then it probably doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s in self-defense. If you shoot someone deliberately, for whatever reason, that\u2019s an intentional loss and likely excluded under such policies. A possible exception to that could be if there was no intent or expectation of serious injury or death\u2014but even that would be a real stretch. Keep in mind that this entire discussion is really not new. For decades, many business owners have kept the proverbial sawed-off shotgun under the counter. Like ISO\u2019s HO policy, their CGL policy has a virtually identical exclusion and exception that has been discussed for years by commercial lines practitioners. Homeowners and Umbrella Policies are not commodities and you MUST understand your policy language. As for umbrella or excess policies, it all depends on the precise language of the form, which can vary dramatically from one insurer to another. And be wary of any standalone \u201cgun liability\u201d policies. Many of them may be so restrictive that very little coverage is actually provided. Call SWFL Insurance Agency for further discussion and a review of your present coverage. 239-265-9577 You can see a discussion of The State of Florida Justification For the Use of Force & Deadly Force at the SWFL Agency Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"One of my insureds has purchased a hand gun, taken a gun safety course and obtained a concealed weapon permit","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_metasync_otto_title":"","_metasync_otto_description":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-swfl-insurance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSo\u2026You used your Glock to stop a Criminal Invasion at your home\u2026.How does your Homeowners Policy respond? 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