A chip in tile flooring caused by a dropped hammer is not a covered loss pursuant to the "marring" exclusion.

An insured dropped a hammer on his tile floor, causing a quarter-sized chip in the tile. He submitted a claim, which was denied pursuant to the exclusion for "Wear and tear, marring, deterioration… ." The court applied the definition of "mar" or "marring," which means to injure, spoil, damage, ruin, detract from. When considering the definition, and with no alternative definition from the insured, the court concluded that the damage caused by the hammer constituted marring and was excluded from coverage. Summary judgment for Universal was affirmed.

Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter 2013