Opinion ID: 1157021
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion applies to loss resulting from a condition existing at the time at which the policy was made.

Text: In finding coverage, the circuit court found that the exclusion regarding water damage did not contemplate Respondents' situation, since the definitions of water damage describe events or conditions not existing at the time the policy was written, such as floods, waves, etc. We find that the language of the water damage exclusion does not support the circuit court's interpretation. The water damage provision excludes coverage for loss caused by water below the surface of the ground, including water which exerts pressure on or seeps or leaks through a... swimming pool or other structure. Nothing in the language excludes an existing condition as a cause. Moreover, the use of the word exerts in the present tense suggests that an existing condition is contemplated by the exclusion.