What is the Difference Between Personal Injury, Bodily Injury and Personal and Advertising Injury?

In casual conversation, "personal injury" refers to physical injuries sustained by individuals who hire an attorney, often referred to as a "personal injury attorney." Conversely, insurance policies refer to physical injuries sustained by a person as "bodily injury" and define the term "personal injury" to mean something different.

Most liability policies, including homeowners insurance and commercial general liability insurance, define "personal and advertising injury" to mean a list of specified claims and offenses. By way of example, this definition of "personal injury" is taken from a common homeowners insurance policy form:

Personal injury means:

a. libel, slander, or defamation of character;

b. false arrest, detention, or imprisonment, or

malicious prosecution;

c. invasion of privacy; or

d. wrongful eviction or wrongful entry.

Personal injury does not include bodily injury.

Libel, slander, and defamation are claims resulting in damage to a person's reputation as opposed to physical harm or sickness. Likewise, false arrest, detention, malicious prosecution, invasion of privacy, and wrongful eviction are offenses against a person that may not involve physical harm. Commercial liability policies generally cover claims for "Personal and Advertising Injury" under coverage B of commercial general liability policies, defined as:

"Personal and advertising injury" means injury,

including consequential "bodily injury," arising out

of one or more of the following offenses:

a. False arrest, detention, or imprisonment;

b. Malicious prosecution;

c. The wrongful eviction from, wrongful entry into,

or invasion of the right of private occupancy of

a room, dwelling, or premises that a person

occupies, committed by or on behalf of its

owner, landlord, or lessor;

d. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of

material that slanders or libels a person or

organization or disparages a person's or

organization's goods, products, or services;

e. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of

material that violates a person's right of

privacy;

f. The use of another's advertising idea in your

"advertisement"; or

g. Infringing upon another's copyright, trade dress,

or slogan in your "advertisement".

In sum, what is considered "personal injury" in casual conversation is usually defined as "bodily injury" under insurance policies. And the term "personal injury" or "personal and advertising injury" means a specified list of offenses against individuals that may not result in physical harm.