A Knockout For Insurers – BCSC Confirms Exclusion For Failure To Prevent Assault

In Reeves v Co-Operators General Insurance Company, 2022 BCSC 2258, the court considered whether the defendant insurer owed a duty to defend the parents of a young man charged with assaulting a classmate. At issue was the interpretation of an insurance policy clause excluding coverage for "failure of any insured to take steps to prevent" an assault. This was the first time a British Columbia court had interpreted such an exclusion.

The insureds' son was alleged to have assaulted a female student at school. The victim sued the son, his parents and the school officials, alleging prior incidents of violent behaviour by the son and negligence on the part of his parents and the school for failing to take steps to prevent further violence. The insurer refused coverage to the parents under their general liability policy on the basis of an exclusion, which read as follows: