By now you have probably seen the attached video {Click Here to Watch} of the “enthusiastic” (ok, really drunk) Alabama fan who was trying to deliver some frontier justice to an Oklahoma fan in the adjoining section. Clearly, her activity stands out as a shining example of how fans should act on any given Saturday in the Southeastern Conference and surely there is a co-ed somewhere in Tuscaloosa who is proud to call this fine lady his mom.
But I digress. The real reason for his post is to discuss whether or not this fine lady would be covered by her homeowner’s insurance policy for any of her extra-curricular activities. Although most people think of their homeowners insurance as only providing coverage for either property damage or injuries which occur on the insured property (slip and falls, dog bites, etc.), the standard homeowner’s insurance policy also provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by the insured while away from home. In short, the usual policy provides coverage for: “bodily injury” or “property damage” caused by an “occurrence”… to a person off the “insured location”, if the “bodily injury”… is caused by the activities of an “insured”. Now, since all those quoted terms are specifically defined elsewhere in the policy, you can rest assured that such coverage is subject to several exclusions and that obtaining coverage for your follies may not be as easy as it seems. But as least it is a start.
Now, with regard to the specific example posed by our southern belle, there is a specific exclusion to this coverage for, shall we call them, intentional acts. The exclusion reads, in pertinent part: Personal Liability Coverage….do(es) not apply to ‘bodily injury” or “property damage” which is expected or intended by one or more “insureds”. Oops! Even though some might say she is a little “cray cray”, her acts look pretty intentional. Perhaps the better advice would be that, if you plan to get that drunk, maybe you should stay at home and watch the game from the safety of your own home.