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Explaining The Need to Prove an Occurrence  

https://zalma.com/blog

An \\u201coccurrence\\u201d is usually defined as accidental loss or damage which  results, during the policy period, in bodily injury or property damage.  In Green v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. 127 P.3d 1279, 2005 UT  App 564 (Utah App. 12/30/2005) a homeowner sued the insured developer  after he sustained property damages as a result of a landslide. At the  time of the landslide, the developer held a contractor/builder\\u2019s risk  insurance policy issued by State Farm. The developer initiated a  declaratory judgment action against State Farm, seeking defense and  indemnification under the policy.  It should be axiomatic in all third party liability cases that before  there can be a duty to defend there must be an occurrence or accident so  that the events sued upon are fortuitous. In some states, the pleading  controls the decision on coverage, as in Utah, while in others, like  California, the insurer is obligated to look beyond the complaint to  extrinsic facts.  In Automobile Insurance Co. of Hartford v. Cook, 21 A.D.3d 1155, 801  N.Y.S.2d 837 (2005) the court was faced with the legal question of  whether an individual\\u2019s homeowner\\u2019s insurance policy affords coverage  when that individual is sued for wrongful death after killing a person  in self-defense. On February 20, 2002, defendant Alfred S. Cook shot and  killed Richard A. Barber, the decedent, after a disagreement over a  business arrangement spun out of control. The decedent had entered  Cook\\u2019s home without permission. During their discussions, Cook, armed  with a handgun, retreated to his bedroom to retrieve a 12-gauge shotgun  and then returned to the living room, where the fatal confrontation  occurred.  Please send me an e-mail at zalma@zalma.com if you liked or disliked the  videos I have produced on youtube.com and rumble.com.  \\xa9 2021 \\u2013 Barry Zalma  Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an  insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance  claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally  for insurers and policyholders. He also serves as an arbitrator or  mediator for insurance related disputes. He practiced law in California  for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling  lawyer and more than 52 years in the insurance business. He is available  at http://www.zalma.com and zalma@zalma.com.  Mr. Zalma is the first recipient of the first annual Claims Magazine/ACE  Legend Award.  Over the last 53 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance,  insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created  the following library of books and other materials to make it possible  for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims  professionals.  Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma;  Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library \\u2013 https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/ Read posts from Barry Zalma at https://parler.com/profile/Zalma/posts; and the last two issues of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/  podcast now available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zalma-on-insurance/id1509583809?uo=4