Assault and Battery Exclusion, Negligent Hiring, and General Liability Coverage

A claim involving a stabbing of a tenant by an unknown assailant has come to our attention. Our insured is the property manager and is being sued. The insurer has filed a declaratory judgment action based on the following exclusions: bodily injury arising out of an assault or battery, provoked or unprovoked or out of any act or omission in connection with the prevention or suppression of an assault or battery, committed by any insured or an employee or agent of the insured; bodily injury arising out of any allegation that any insured's act, error, or omission, whether negligent or otherwise, in connection with the hiring, retention, training, supervision, or control of any employees, agents, or representatives, causes or contributed or related to any assault or battery.

We believe that these exclusions should not apply to the property manager since none of his actions or omissions in any way contributed to the assault of the tenant. What is your opinion?

Kansas Subscriber

We agree with your analysis of the exclusions in that the wording applies to the insured causing the assault and battery either directly or indirectly, that is, either committing the assault or hiring and training an employee or agent who did the assault. From your description of the incident, the one who committed the crime is unknown. So, unless the insurer can show that the assault was committed by the insured or an employee or agent of the insured, the exclusions are not applicable. The insurer must prove an exclusion applies if it is using the exclusion to deny coverage; merely saying an exclusion applies is not going to be acceptable to any court hearing a declaratory judgment action.

This premium content is locked for FC&S Coverage Interpretation Subscribers

Enjoy unlimited access to the trusted solution for successful interpretation and analyses of complex insurance policies.

  • Quality content from industry experts with over 60 years insurance experience, combined
  • Customizable alerts of changes in relevant policies and trends
  • Search and navigate Q&As to find answers to your specific questions
  • Filter by article, discussion, analysis and more to find the exact information you’re looking for
  • Continually updated to bring you the latest reports, trending topics, and coverage analysis