What insurance term is commonly associated with the absence of intent to cause harm?

Negligence refers to a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would in similar circumstances. This lack of intent to cause harm is a key characteristic of negligence. In legal terms, negligence occurs when someone inadvertently causes damage or injury to another person, typically through careless actions or omissions rather than deliberate actions.

For example, if a driver fails to stop at a red light due to distraction and causes an accident, that driver has acted negligently because there was no intention to harm anyone. The focus in negligence cases is on the action and its consequences, not on an intention to cause harm.

In contrast, terms like "intentional tort" indicate that there was a deliberate intention to cause harm; "liability" refers to the legal responsibility one has for the consequences of their actions or negligence; and "gross negligence" involves a severe lack of care that goes beyond mere negligence, often indicating a disregard for the safety of others. Therefore, negligence is the term that best captures the absence of intent to harm.