Property and Casualty Insurance · Property Insurance · 8 min read
Personal Liability and Medical Payments
- Differentiate between Coverage E Personal Liability and Coverage F Medical Payments to Others regarding fault, limits, and covered expenses.
- Identify who qualifies as an insured person and what locations qualify as an insured location under standard Section II provisions.
- Explain the core exclusions, defense obligations, and Section II additional coverages such as damage to property of others.
Structure of Section II: Coverage E and Coverage F
Homeowners policies provide liability insurance under Section II of the contract. Standard Insurance Services Office (ISO) homeowners forms generally include Section II liability coverage, though specific provisions can differ across various policy forms. In practice, individual insurance companies may also issue policies using their own forms and proprietary endorsements. Unlike property losses evaluated under Section I, losses covered under Section II do not carry a deductible.
Section II is split into two principal parts: Coverage E (Personal Liability) and Coverage F (Medical Payments to Others). Coverage E protects an insured against legal claims and lawsuits alleging bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence. An occurrence is defined as an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions, resulting in bodily injury or property damage during the policy period. Bodily injury encompasses physical harm, sickness, or disease, including required care, loss of services, and resulting death. Property damage means physical injury to, destruction of, or loss of use of tangible property.
Coverage F pays for necessary medical expenses resulting from an accident, including surgical, dental, hospital, ambulance, professional nursing, and funeral services. A defining feature of Coverage F is that it applies on a no-fault basis. The injured person does not have to prove that the insured was negligent, nor does the insured need to be held legally liable. To be eligible for reimbursement, the necessary medical expenses must be incurred within three years from the date of the accident.
| Feature | Coverage E (Personal Liability) | Coverage F (Medical Payments to Others) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Base Limit | 100,000 dollars per occurrence | 1,000 dollars per person |
| Fault Requirement | Coverage E pays covered damages for which an insured is legally liable and defends a covered suit even before liability is established. | No-fault (no negligence required) |
| Types of Covered Harm | Bodily injury and property damage | Necessary medical expenses for bodily injury only |
| Time Limit to Incur Expenses | Governed by legal claims and statutes | Incurred within 3 years from accident date |
| Application of Limits | Per occurrence (regardless of claimant count) | Per person per accident |
Common mistakes
- Assuming Coverage F pays for injuries sustained by the named insured or family members living in the household. Coverage F is strictly medical payments to others and never covers an insured or regular resident, except for residence employees.
- Believing that an insured must be found negligent for Coverage F to pay. Coverage F does not require proof of negligence, but it pays only eligible medical expenses incurred within the policy's time limit and remains subject to its exclusions.
- Confusing bodily injury liability with personal injury liability. Standard Section II covers bodily injury (physical harm, sickness, disease) and property damage. Personal injury (libel, slander, invasion of privacy) is excluded unless added by endorsement.
- Assuming the 1,000 dollar damage to property of others additional coverage applies to intentional acts by young children. The exclusion for intentional damage applies only to insureds who are 13 years of age or older; acts by children under 13 can be covered.
Key points
- Section II of the homeowners policy contains Coverage E (Personal Liability) and Coverage F (Medical Payments to Others), neither of which has a deductible.
- Coverage E protects against legal liability for bodily injury and property damage, providing a base limit of 100,000 dollars per occurrence plus defense costs paid outside the limit.
- Coverage F provides a standard base limit of 1,000 dollars per person on a no-fault basis for necessary medical expenses incurred within three years of an accident.
- Insured persons include the named insured, resident spouse, resident relatives, full-time relative students under age 24, and residents under age 21 in the care of an insured.
- The ISO insured-location definition also includes premises used in connection with a covered residence and land on which an insured is building a one- to four-family dwelling for use as a residence; its vacant-land category excludes farmland.
- Damage to property of others pays up to 1,000 dollars on a replacement cost basis without requiring negligence, but excludes intentional damage caused by an insured age 13 or older.
- Standard Section II generally excludes business-related injury, subject to policy exceptions and available endorsements; it also excludes expected or intended injury subject to the reasonable-force exception and injury eligible for workers compensation benefits. Offenses such as libel and slander are not covered by the base personal liability coverage but may be added by endorsement.
Practice this section
Explained Property Insurance questions, no account needed. Property Insurance practice test
The full lesson continues with 4 more sections with exam tips, audio in English and Spanish, 5 Check yourself questions and 20 flashcards.
- 1 month
$53.99$26.99 - 3 months
$158.99$79.49 - Lifetime
$323.99$161.99
One payment, no subscription.
See Property and Casualty plansAlready a member? Log in
Sample lesson: Risk and Ways to Handle It25 practice questions on this exam
Each Property and Casualty practice test has 25 original questions with the answers explained. No account needed.
Open the Property and Casualty practice testsOriginal lesson written for Property and Casualty Insurance practice · updated October 31, 2026. Exam names are trademarks of their owners; tests.global is not affiliated with them.