South Carolina § 38-61-70 - Commercial general liability policy; coverage for construction professional doing construction related work; definition of occurrence; application.

§ 38-61-70. Commercial general liability policy; coverage for construction professional doing construction related work; definition of occurrence; application.

(A) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Commercial general liability insurance policy" means a contract of insurance that covers occurrences of damages or injury during the policy period and insures a construction professional for liability arising from construction related work.

(2) "Construction professional" means a person, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other recognized legal entity that engages in the development, construction, installation, or repair of an improvement to real property.

(3) "Construction related work" means activities by a construction professional involving the development, construction, installation, or repair of an improvement to real property.

(B) Commercial general liability insurance policies shall contain or be deemed to contain a definition of "occurrence" that includes:

(1) an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions; and

(2) property damage or bodily injury resulting from faulty workmanship, exclusive of the faulty workmanship itself.

(C) This section is not intended to restrict or limit the nature or types of exclusions from coverage that an insurer, including a surplus lines insurer, may include in a commercial general liability insurance policy.

(D) This section applies only to a commercial general liability insurance policy that insures a construction professional for liability arising from construction related work.

(E) This section applies to any pending or future dispute over coverage that would otherwise be affected by this section as to all commercial general liability insurance policies issued in the past, currently in existence, or issued in the future.

HISTORY: 2011 Act No. 26, SECTION 1, eff May 17, 2011.

Validity

For validity of this section, see Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co. v. State, 401 S.C. 15, 736 S.E.2d 651 (S.C. 2012).

Editor's Note

2011 Act No. 26, SECTION 3, provides as follows:

"This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to any pending or future dispute over coverage that would otherwise be affected by this section as to commercial general liability insurance policies issued in the past, currently in existence, or issued in the future."