Occurrence – What Is It, and When Does Injury Occur?- Archive

Summary:  What Is “Caused by an Occurrence?” The term “occurrence” appears a number of times in standard liability policies, and disagreement as to its meaning has led to conflicts between insurers and insureds; often, in fact, these debates have resulted in litigation. The phrase “caused by an occurrence,” contained in many standard liability insuring agreements, has been troublesome despite the fact that “occurrence” is defined in the policy. Nevertheless, many legal actions have centered around the issue of what constitutes an occurrence for purposes of liability coverage.

This discussion concerns insurance coverage issues arising out of the term “occurrence”, with a review of relevant legal cases and some related questions.

Topics covered:

What is an occurrence?

Expected or intended

Number of occurrences

When injury “occurs”

Montrose decision

What Is an Occurrence?