Voorhees v. Preferred Mutual Insurance Co.3/20/1991
ciation policy did not cover "personal injury" but the Lumbermen's policy expressly defined "personal injury" to include physical and mental harm. Id. at 499, 528 A.2d 64. Coverage for personal injury liability may be obtained for protection against claims stemming from libel, slander and similar offenses; personal injury is not the same as "bodily injury" in insurance terminology. 7A Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice § 4501.14, at 286 (Berdal ed. 1979). "Personal injuries" from nonphysical contact may be added by endorsement to an insurance policy. Lumbermen's, 218 N.J. Super. at 498-99, 528 A.2d 64 (citing Riegel, Miller & William, Insurance Principles and Practices, Property and Liability 430 (6th ed. 1976)).
In Allstate Insurance Company v. Diamant, 401 Mass. 654, 518 N.E. 2d 1154 (1988), a high school teacher instituted an action against a student's parents who wrote allegedly defamatory letters to the principal of the high school. The teacher
instituted suit against the Diamants for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which did not involve any physical harm or manifestation of physical injury. The Diamants sought to have Allstate defend them under their homeowner's policy. Id. 518 N.E.2d at 1155. The court noted that "the term 'personal injury' is broader and includes not only physical injury but also any affront or insult to the reputation or sensibilities of a person." Id. at 1156. On the other hand, "bodily injury" is a "narrow term and encompasses only physical injuries to the body and the consequences thereof." Id. In finding that the term "bodily injury" is not ambiguous, the court noted that "' s a general rule, other jurisdictions have found the term 'bodily injury' to be unambiguous and understood to mean hurt or harm to the human body, contemplating actual physical harm or damage to a human body.'" Id. at 1157 (quoting Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hoag, 136 Mich. App. 326, 334, 356 N.W. 2d 630 (1984) (bodily injury does not include humiliation and mental anguish and suffering). See also Cotton States Mutual Ins. Co. v. Crosby, 244 Ga. 456, 459, 260 S.E. 2d 860 (1979); American & Foreign Ins. Co. v. Church Schools, 645 F. Supp. 628, 632 (E.D.Va.1986); St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Campbell County School Dist. No. 1, 612 F. Supp. 285, 287 (D.Wyo.1985); Grant v. North River Ins. Co., 453 F. Supp. 1361, 1367 (N.D.Ind.1978); Artcraft of N.H., Inc. v. Lumberman's Mut. Casualty Co., 126 N.H. 844, 846, 497 A.2d 1195 (1985); McCroskey v. Cass County, 303 N.W. 2d 330, 336 (N.D.1981). Further, the phrase "sickness and disease" as contained in the definition of "bodily injury" also requires a showing of physical affliction. Diamant, 518 N.E. 2d at 1157 n. 3 (citing Palumbo v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 296 Mass. 358, 5 N.E. 2d 836 (1937).
The use of the term "bodily injury" in the policy limits the harm covered by the policy to physical injury, sickness, or disease and does not include nonphysical harm to the person . . . . In tort actions alleging mental suffering, the courts have consistently distinguished mental and emotional harm from physical harm, whether or not they recognize mental suffering as a separate cause of action.
See Piorkowski v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 68 Wis. 2d 455, 228 N.W. 2d 695 (1975); First National Bank of Jacksonville v. Bragdon, 84 S.D. 89, 167 N.W. 2d 381 (1969); State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Village of Isle, 265 Minn. 360, 122 N.W. 2d 36 (1963); Stewart v. Rudner, 349 Mich. 459, 84 N.W. 2d 816 (1957); Curnett v. Wolf, 244 Iowa 683,
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