Folklore sometimes develops regarding a particular insurance
issue, to the point where the actual policy wording is ignored or
forgotten. One such area is the common discussion about the
supposed difference between "accident based" and
"occurrence based" coverage. According to this fairy
tale, "Once upon a time, policies covered only events called
'accidents'...." The story goes on to reveal how
subsequently the insurance industry decreed that coverage would
expand to events called "occurrences," and there was much
rejoicing among insureds. This story, though, is a fallacy which
completely ignores both the terms of the pre-1966 policy wording,
and the entire context of the changes made in the 1966 ISO policy.
In short, it is simply incorrect to say that the earlier policies
covered "accidents" and the later policies covered
"occurrences." This story (if believed) deprives insureds
of the broad coverage to which they are entitled under the pre-1966
wording. By treating
