Clean-up Coverage

HO-6 condo policy – our insured rented the unit to a couple they were acquainted with – and on 11/27/07 the wife shot herself in the head in the master bed room after the husband went to work and we have blood and body matter on all walls, ceiling, floor, and furniture in the master bedroom and some in the bathroom and hallway – there was also a small dog and cat found a day or two later in the unit covered with blood. Would this be excluded due to pollution? Endorsement HO1752 FL defines pollutants as any solid, liquid, gaseous or thermal irritant or contaminant, including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, chemicals and waste. Waste included materials to be recycled, reconditioned or reclaimed. Also, under the HO-6 exclusions 8. Intentional Loss states: In the event of such loss, no “insured” is entitled to coverage, even “insureds” who did not commit or conspire to commit the act causing the loss.

Please advise if either of the above exclusions would apply or would this not be consider pollution.

South Carolina Subscriber

While bodily remains need to be cleaned up, they are not waste in the sense that they can be recycled, reconditioned or reclaimed. The pollution exclusion applies to gaseous, liquid or solid irritants including alkalis, acids, etc. While cleaning up a body may be distasteful, human remains aren't an irritant in the chemical sense that is described in the pollution exclusion. The exclusion specifically refers to man made pollutants or contaminants, and exclusions are to be read narrowly. Therefore the remains are not pollutants and are not excluded.

As far as intentional loss, the tenant's intent was to end her life, not to cause damage to the home. While one could suggest that she knew it'd make a mess, most suicides don't think beyond the immediate end to their emotional pain and the results beyond that are not part of their intent, however logical it seems.

So the cleanup is covered.

 

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