Defective work does not constitute “property damage” under a CGL Policy

General liability insurance policies provide coverage for “property damage”. Property damage is typically defined as:

“Physical injury to tangible property including all resulting loss of use of that property.”

The case law in Florida makes it clear that there is a difference between a claim for removal / replacement of defective work, which does not constitute property damage under a CGL policy, and a claim for repairing damage to other tangible property caused by defective work, which is a claim for property damage. See U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. J.S.U.B., Inc., 979 So. 2d 871, 889 (Fla. 2007); See also Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Pozzi Window Co., 984 So. 2d 1241, 1248 (Fla. 2008).

“The purpose of … comprehensive liability insurance coverage is to provide protection for personal injury or for property damage caused by the completed product, but not for the replacement and repair of that product.” See LaMarche v. Shelby Mut. Ins. Co., 390 So.2d 325, 326 (Fla.1980). Thus, if the only damage being alleged is the defective work of a single contractor, such damage will not constitute “property damage” for purposes of liability coverage. See Carithers v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 782 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir. 2015)(Policy’s coverage for property damage did not include defective work of subcontractor, but did include damage to other property caused by defective work of subcontractor.)