EstatePass
PLNationalhard

An HO-3 insured carries Coverage E at the standard default limit. Their dog bites a visitor, who incurs $140,000 in medical bills and is awarded a $180,000 judgment for pain and suffering. Assuming no policy exclusion applies and the dog is not on the carrier's prohibited-breed list, how much does Coverage E pay, and what happens to the remainder?

Coverage E pays $100,000, its default per-occurrence limit; the insured is personally liable for the remaining $220,000 unless an umbrella responds
BCoverage E pays the full $320,000 because medical and general damages combined have no per-occurrence limit under Section II
CCoverage E pays only the $140,000 in medical specials; the $180,000 pain-and-suffering judgment is treated as uninsurable general damages excluded from Section II coverage entirely
DCoverage E pays $300,000 because that is the mandatory minimum default liability limit applied to all standard ISO HO-3 policies

Why this is the answer

The standard default Coverage E (Personal Liability) limit on the ISO HO-3 is $100,000 per occurrence, though most insureds elect $300,000 or $500,000. Coverage E pays compensatory damages — including both medical specials and general damages such as pain and suffering — for which an insured is legally liable. Here total damages are $320,000; Coverage E pays its $100,000 limit and the insured is personally liable for the $220,000 gap unless a personal umbrella policy provides excess coverage. Defense costs are paid in addition to the limit until the limit is exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements (ISO HO 00 03 Section II — Coverage E).

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