Perhaps there are some readers who have not known yet about the difference between “bodily injury” and “personal injury”, especially in liability insurance field. In this type of insurance, both of two technical term above often appeared, so it should be well understood about the main differences.

In the CGL (Comprehensive General Liability) policy wording, it contains the definition of Bodily Injury (BI) that is : “bodily injury or sickness sustained by a person including death resulting from any of these at any time.” It means that bodily injury can be physical injury or sickness suffered by anyone, including death due to two causes abovementioned. Unfortunately, in the CGL wording, there was no attached definition of Personal Injury (PI). While the word of Personal Injury was often founded at additional clauses of CGL as well Public Liability. You can find it viz. in these clauses below : Marine and Offshore Liability Exclusions, Absolute Pollution Exclusion, and Absolute Asbestos Exclusion.

More specific definition of bodily injury can be found at the book entitled “Personal Insurance” Study Course 760, The Chartered Insurance Institute, 2001, especially in the Glossary section. It was said that “the use of this term excludes disease from natural causes, but disease proximately caused by accident is considered to be bodily injury (unless specifically excluded by the policy). Mental shock, fright or grief, unless causing some physical injury or disease, does not strictly come within the scope of bodily injury, but modern policies tend to include any disablement caused by shock.” Whereas the term of Personal Injury can be founded in the same book at page 13/19 that was stated that “personal injury includes any disease and any other impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition. This would also include claims for nervous shock”.

To make it easier in discussing about difference term between “Bodily Injury” and “Personal Injury”, I will give some examples of insurance case. One of them is very popular in the basic insurance theory, namely Etherington vs Lancashire and Yorkshire Accident Ins Co. (1909) Case, where the insured fell from his horse brought about injury and might be lied down in the humid land, then he suffered pneumonia and finally he died. The proximate cause in this case is “bodily injury” although sickness also taken part in this accident (that was excluded in the policy).

Meanwhile, the example case in respect of Personal Injury can be founded at Yurisprudence of Bourhill vs Young (1942) while the plaintiff who was being pregnant heard an explosion from collision between motor cycle and car but she could not seen the accident becuse his stand position blocked by a tram. While she acrossed to the incident place and seen the blood, she suffered “nervous shock” that caused death on baby birth. This incident did not met the definition of “bodily injury” because at the same time, the “physical defect” not occured, it just a “shock”. If the plaintiff proposed sue to defendant, the content of that sue must be defined as “personal injury”, not “bodily injury”. Thereby, “personal injury” is not solely “physical injury” but it can be “mental disorder” like fear or other mental weaknesses.

In the Indonesian Standard Motor Vehicle Policy, the extended cover of third party liability was formed as “bodily injury” and “property damage”. So, the liable sue was limited to “bodily injury” or “death” and not extend to “personal injury”. Still, in the Indonesian wording should be clearly defined about “bodily injury” word, in the same manner as other definitions stated at Chapter III on Article 4 in order for the next future, there are not any different interpretation between the insured and insurer.

Reference : “Personal Insurances” Study Course 760, The Chartered Insurance Institute, 2001