PERSONAL UMBRELLA POLICY · 5 MIN READ

Personal Injury Offenses Under the Umbrella

Personal injury is not a synonym for bodily injury. On a personal umbrella, personal injury is a separately defined coverage — often added by endorsement — that responds to a specific list of enumerated offenses rather than physical harm. The classic offense set is: false arrest, detention, or imprisonment; malicious prosecution; wrongful entry into, wrongful eviction from, or invasion of a private occupancy; libel; slander; invasion of privacy; and discrimination where insurable by law. Disparagement offenses reach related torts such as slander of title, where a false recorded lien impairs someone's property interest and causes pecuniary loss. Because many of these offenses are excluded or absent from the underlying homeowners and auto policies, personal injury is a prime example of the umbrella's drop-down value: where no underlying policy responds, the umbrella covers the claim subject to the self-insured retention. Where the homeowners policy carries its own personal injury endorsement, the umbrella sits excess of it. The offenses have legal elements the exam can probe. Malicious prosecution requires that the underlying criminal proceeding terminated in favor of the person now suing — until that favorable termination occurs, no cause of action exists and the offense is not triggered. Discrimination coverage is always qualified by the phrase where insurable: many states prohibit insuring intentional discrimination or punitive damages, so only compensatory damages for unintentional discrimination may be covered, and a business-related discrimination claim (such as a landlord's rental operation) can also collide with the business-pursuits exclusion.