Accidental "Means" vs Accidental "Results"

• Accidental "means" definition - if the insured "meant" to preform the action, the policy will NOT pay
• Accidental "results" definition - only the result of the accident needs to be accidental

MR. WATSON: What's the definition of accident? It depends upon your policy. Most policies have the definition of accident as "accidental results" (See accidental bodily injury provision ). No matter what you do that leads up to the accident, we will pay. Only, the accident had to be accidental. I will show you.

MR. WATSON: Remember the last thing a southern man says before he does something stupid? "Hey, yall, hold my beer, watch this"!!!

MR. WATSON: If I jumped off a roof and broke my neck, that was an accident, wasn't it? Would you agree?

ALL: Yes.

MR. WATSON: It would still pay. Even for stupid stuff. If two guys get into playing chicken, driving down the road, and neither one of them yields, boom, if one of them gets killed or mangled up in the accident, it'll pay. Only the accident has to be accidental.

MR. WATSON: The other definition is nasty. It is called accidental means or the accidental means provision. With accidental means, if your policy has a definition of accident that's accidental means, now, not only must the accident have been accidental, but the thing leading up to it had to be accidental as well.

MR. WATSON: So, in the previous example it would not pay because I meant to jump, even though I didn't mean to break my neck.

MR. WATSON: Under accidental means, would it pay?

ALL: No.

WOMAN: How are they going to prove that?

MR. WATSON: You are not Dick Tracy. Or CSI Miami. The exam doesn't ask how they would prove it. It is always the burden of the insurance to prove these things.

MR. WATSON: Which one of the definitions is more limiting?

ALL: Accidental means.

MR. WATSON: Yepper!