EXPLOSION–A DISCUSSION

(June 2019)

INTRODUCTION

Standard property coverage forms and policies do not define explosion. This fact illustrates just how difficult it is to give precise meanings to certain terms that insurance policies use. However, not having an exact (and perhaps restrictive) definition or contractual meaning is an advantage for the insured and often a disadvantage for the insurance company.

It may be best to avoid assigning special meanings or definitions to such a term. One insurance company executive thoughtfully and succinctly summed up the issue this way:

"We are inclined to base our definitions on how a chemist, or some other technician defines the meaning of a word rather than what the ordinary man on the street thinks. If insurance companies want to restrict the meaning of a term to a technical definition and so define it in the policy, there is nothing to stop them from doing so. But is this the proper course to follow? If we should define every potentially troublesome term in a policy, the form would be quite cluttered up. As long as we do not define a word, perhaps we should steer away from the technician's definition and use the more liberal definition of the “man on the street.”

DEFINITIONS

An undefined policy term has the same meaning as when it is used for non-insurance purposes. A dictionary is the tool frequently used to determine a word's meaning and how it should apply when it is in an insuring agreement, condition, exclusion, or endorsement. Therefore, we must consult the dictionaries.

The American Heritage College Dictionary defines explosion as:

• The release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a sudden and often violent manner, with the generation of high temperature and usually with the release of gases
• A violent bursting as a result of internal pressure
• The loud sharp sound made as a result of either of these actions

The Chemical Engineers' Handbook (McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.) defines explosion as follows:

• Explosion or detonation presupposes a sudden violent change of pressure, characteristically involving the liberation and expansion of a large volume of gas due to high temperature. The change that takes place is a progressive one, proceeding from one part of the exploding material to the next adjoining part. The term "detonation" is usually applied to an explosion of very high order, i.e., where high velocities are involved.
• Pressure rupture, such as the failure of an air receiver, steam boiler, or closed receptacle containing fluids, is a rupture that results from internal pressure that exceeds the ultimate strength of the container.

The terms "explosion" and "detonation" are commonly used to include pressure ruptures. This is technically incorrect. While the results are similar, the mechanism of a pressure rupture is entirely different. A true explosion or detonation involves chemical change. A pressure rupture is simply the enclosing receptacle failing to contain excessive pressure within it.

A prominent insurance organization defined explosion as the release of energy so rapid that it appears practically instantaneous. Based on that organization’s own experience, an explosion may be one of the following:

• Release of energy developed by rapid oxidation
• Release of energy generated by rapid decomposition
• Release of energy caused by excessive pressure or the weakening of a pressure container
• Release of energy created by nuclear fission or fusion

EXPLOSION OR ANOTHER CAUSE OF LOSS

Fire and explosion both result from rapid oxidation accompanied by a release of energy. The difference between a fire and an explosion primarily involves the rate at which the energy is released. For this reason alone, there is no sharp distinction or line of demarcation between a fire and an explosion. Fires that spread rapidly are often referred to as explosions but the term "flash fire" is probably a more accurate description. However, if the mixture of flammable vapor or dust and air is confined leading to a buildup of pressure as the fuel burns, the pressure may develop to the point of bursting the confining vessel or structure and produce an explosion.

These points are significant and illustrate why insurance policies include multiple causes of loss under a single coverage form.

When fire is the only covered cause of loss, explosion damage is not covered. However, the fire that follows an explosion is covered. While very few policies cover only fire, many excluded causes of loss do cover resulting fire but not resulting explosion. It is therefore to the insurance company’s advantage to distinguish between the two.

An important point to note is that sonic boom is not an explosion. Dictionaries, engineers, and the courts all agree on this point. Sonic booms are caused by a mechanically created pressure wave that builds as the speed of a jet increases. It can occur with or without property damage. There may be a sound similar to an explosion but that sound alone is not sufficient to call it an "explosion."

COURT DECISIONS

The way courts interpret "explosion" as an insured cause of loss or peril in property insurance coverage forms and policies is illustrated by the following comments made during litigation of important cases:

• "'Explosion' is variously used in ordinary speech and is not a word that admits of exact definition. Its general characteristics may be described, but the exact facts which constitute what we call by that name are not susceptible of such statement as will always distinguish the occurrences." United Life, Fire & Marine Insurance Company v. Foote. 22 O.S. 340, 347
• "In a broad sense, 'explosion' has been defined as meaning the act of exploding, bursting with a loud noise or detonation; a shattering by a sudden and intense pressure in distinction to rupture; a sudden bursting, or breaking up in pieces from an internal or other force." Bower v. Aetna Insurance Company. 54 F. Supp. 897
• "'Explosion' may be defined as a sudden, accidental, violent bursting, breaking, or expansion caused by an internal force or pressure which may be and usually is accompanied by some noise." American Alliance Insurance Company v. Keleket X-Ray Corporation. 6th Cir., 248 F. 2d 920
• "The term 'explosion' has been defined in various ways and usually in general terms. But cases cited and used in reference make it clear that in order for an occurrence to constitute an explosion, there must be a sudden breaking forth of a confined substance as a result of an internal force." American Casualty Company of Reading, Appellant v. Myrick, d.b.a. Market Produce Company, Appellee. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Lever Brothers Company v. Atlas Assurance Company. 7th Cir., 131 F. 2d 770. and Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Texas v. Schwartz. Tex. Civ. App., 312 S.W. 2d 313
• "'Implosion' is an internal collapse followed immediately by an outward rush of air." "Here it is stipulated that the rupture occurred first, then there was an outward rushing of air. This sequence of the collapse first and then the outward rushing of air does not comport with the ordinary meaning of explosion. The definition leaves no fact question but that the occurrence was not an explosion within the meaning of the policy." Allen, Appellant, v. The Manhattan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Appellee, Texas Civ Y. App., El Paso, No. 6405, February 12, 1975. 1975 Fire & Casualty Volume, p. 696

Examples: Scenario 1: Linda was employed by Patent Publishing. She kept a hot plate in her office that she used to heat water for her tea. She placed the tea kettle on the hot plate to boil late on a Friday afternoon. She was called away to attend to an emergency and left the tea kettle on the hot plate. The tea kettle boiled dry and burst, resulting in ceramic shards flying throughout the office, damaging walls, computer monitors, and desktops. The damage the flying debris caused plus the damage to the tea kettle is considered explosion damage. Scenario 2: Kevin’s lava lamp stopped working. He wasn’t sure if the problem was with the heater or the lamp, so he decided to experiment. He placed the lamp on the burner of his electric stove and turned on the heat. His experiment was successful because the lava started to move, proving that the heater was the culprit. Unfortunately, he left it on the stove too long, the lamp overheated and exploded, allowing the contents to escape. This resulted in shards of glass flying throughout the kitchen, damaging the stovetop and the kitchen floor. The damage the exploding lava lamp caused is considered explosion damage.

CONCLUSION

It is quite interesting and sometimes helpful to understand how a chemist, engineer, or lawyer defines a word for the strict and precise purposes their professions demand. However, insurance buyers justifiably assign common meanings to words that insurance coverage forms and policies do not define.

The courts have given judicial authority to this conclusion, as evidenced by the cases cited above. As a result, the insurance industry interprets "explosion" liberally, subject to the specific exclusions in the various insurance coverage forms and policies.