Interpreting the "Vehicle" Peril

Bill Wilson

Abstract An insured had a riding lawnmower he was moving on a trailer. The vehicle and trailer slid in soft dirt and the trailer came unhooked, throwing the lawmower off and totalling it. Is the lawnmower covered by the insured's named perils policy? The adjuster says there is no peril that covers it listed in the policy.

"Our insured had a riding lawnmower he was moving on a trailer. The vehicle and trailer slid in soft dirt and the trailer came unhooked, throwing the lawmower off and totalling it. Is the lawnmower covered by the insured's named perils policy? The adjuster says there is no peril that covers it listed in the policy."

The adjuster may be limiting his or her thinking to the mower being HIT by a vehicle.

The ISO HO-2 covers this for all property:

6. Vehicles
   This peril does not include loss to a fence,
   driveway or walk caused by a vehicle owned
   or operated by a resident of the "residence
   premises".

The ISO HO-3 covers this for personal property:

6. Vehicles

There’s nothing in a peril that consists of one word –– “vehicles” –– that requires the damage to occur that way. Either the trailer rolled or tipped over, causing the mower to fall. Or the mower perhaps wasn’t secured and fell off. The mower itself is a vehicle and any use or operation of that vehicle could trigger the peril. Unlike the falling object peril, there’s nothing that says the damaged object itself can’t also be the peril.

If you have access to FC&S Bulletins, they have a Q&A about a motorcyclist that was forced off the road by an oncoming auto, causing $625 damage to his leather clothing. FC&S opines that the damage is covered by the "vehicles" peril and would be even if there was not another vehicle involved.

If you have access to IRMI's Personal Lines reference manual, it points out that the "vehicles" peril does not require contact by a vehicle and they cite a court case to illustrate. They give several examples of covered claims involving lawn mowers, autos, and watercraft. One example is someone bringing home a new refrigerator that falls out of the back of the pickup truck.

If you have access to the Virtual Risk Consultant as one of our E&O insureds, you can do similar research. For up to 15 agency users, you can pay as little as $250 a year for access to Rough Note's PF&M reference materials, coverage checklists, and much more.

Here is a VU article that also addresses this issue:

• "Insuring High-Value Lawn Equipment"

Last Updated:  September 9, 2010

Top