The Pollution Exclusion and Carbon Monoxide

Abstract

Approximately 400 individuals die each year and an additional 4,000 individuals are hospitalized annually in the United States due to unintentional carbon monoxide exposure. For the past several decades, insurance policies have generally included a pollution exclusion. This article is intended to contribute to the literature by examining pollution exclusion cases that involved carbon monoxide exposure. A majority of courts uphold the validity of the pollution exclusion in insurance policies to bar coverage for personal injuries resulting from carbon monoxide. The first part of this article discusses the majority rule and the various arguments courts have utilized to uphold the exclusion. A minority rule has also emerged that the pollution exclusion does not apply to cases involving carbon monoxide. The second part of this article examines the arguments courts have utilized in ruling that carbon monoxide is not a “pollutant.” In the wake of conflicting guidance from the courts on the applicability of the pollution exclusion in cases of carbon monoxide exposure, the final part of this article proposes that as a matter of public policy states amend their respective insurance codes to require that insurance policies specifically provide coverage for personal injuries involving carbon monoxide exposure.