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Splitting Hairs

Even when the term is defined in policies, sometimes the difference between being covered or not comes down to, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'occurrence' is."

By Susan Massmann | Updated on April 30, 2009

Although it has been well over a decade since Bill Clinton famously stated, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” comedians and late night talk show hosts still use the quote as a punch line. While we at FC&S do have senses of humor, we have to agree with the former president that sometimes you have to split hairs over the definitions of certain words.

One word that can make insureds and insurers alike want to pull out their hair is “occurrence.” Can two events separated by time really be considered an occurrence? Is repeated exposure to a peril an occurrence?

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