Assault and Battery Exclusions: The Hidden Coverage Gap

Explore the Advocate app here: https://advocate.appAssault and battery coverage is quietly disappearing from commercial general liability policies. Carriers are excluding it entirely or sublimating it down to a fraction of the headline limit, and most operators have no idea until something goes wrong. The number on the declaration page is not the coverage. The endorsements, exclusions, defense cost treatment, and how the excess tower attaches are the coverage.In this episode of the Advocate Insurance Desk, Katie and Grace dig into one of the sneakier coverage problems hitting multifamily, hospitality, and retail right now. They walk through two real cases that show both how bad the exposure has gotten and how coverage actually fails when it gets tested. Then they pull Advocate's own placement data to show just how inconsistent assault and battery pricing has become across states, and ask whether the new standalone products entering the market actually solve the problem or just band-aid it.We cover:A $31 million settlement out of DeKalb County, Georgia at an apartment complex, and why nuclear verdicts in negligent security cases are reshaping this marketThe Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters v. Mainline Private Security case and what it reveals about how coverage fails when claims actually hitAdvocate's placement data showing Illinois operators paying nearly 4x what New York operators pay for the same assault and battery coverageThe carrier rotation happening underneath the surface in Illinois and New York, and why specialty carriers writing assault and battery inclusive policies are a different group than the ones writing the broader marketThe new standalone assault and battery product from CRC Insurance, structured to match general liability so the excess tower can actually attachWhy a $1 million standalone policy still isn't a real fix when verdicts are landing at $30 million and upThe four questions every operator should be asking at their next renewalIf you own, operate, broker, or underwrite multifamily, hospitality, or retail, this episode gives you the frame for what's actually happening to assault and battery coverage and what to ask before your next renewal.0:00 Introduction0:23 Why Assault and Battery Coverage Is Getting Sneaky1:05 Level Set: What Assault and Battery Coverage Actually Is1:53 Carriers Excluding and Sublimating Coverage2:35 The Question: Does the New Product Solve It?2:58 Case One: The DeKalb County, Georgia Settlement3:40 Nuclear Verdicts and Why Georgia Is a Tough Jurisdiction4:27 Case Two: Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters v. Mainline6:00 How the $250K Sublimit Got Eaten by Defense Costs7:00 Advocate Placement Data: New York vs Illinois8:15 Why the Pricing Gap Is So Wide9:20 The Carrier Mix Tells the Real Story10:35 Illinois: A Different Kind of Specialty Rotation11:50 The Capacity Story Behind the Numbers13:05 The Three Numbers That Should Match But Don't14:10 Enter the New CRC Standalone Product15:30 Why the Structure Matters for Excess to Attach16:45 Pushback: Pricing Sustainability and Adverse Selection18:00 Is Insurance Even the Right Fix Here?18:45 Tort Reform and the Real Drivers19:40 The Transparency Problem20:55 Four Questions to Ask at Your Next Renewal22:30 Closing: Coverage Architecture Over Headline Limits#CRE #Multifamily #Insurance #CommercialRealEstate #RiskManagement #InsuranceMarket