You are currently viewing A Claim Story: Why Do you Need Homeowners Liability Coverage?

Recently, we had a claim where a delivery person from a well-known company slipped while delivering a package on the property of one of our insureds and got injured.

Though the delivery company bore medical expenses to recover the injuries of the delivery person through workers compensation coverage. They later returned and sued our client’s Homeowners Coverage for the injuries. However, those injuries were in excess of $600, 000 of medical bills.

That’s because the delivery woman got a severe hip injury as she fell, and she could not walk in the same way and nor could she ever run. The settlement was in excess of $796, 000. Our insured didn’t have to pay anything because they had enough coverage to cover the expenses.

However, lots of people consider that having Homeowners Coverage of $300,000 or less is enough for them.

But imagine, how much our client had to bear if they had coverage of only $300, 000? Or, if they didn’t have Homeowners Liability Coverage at all?

That’s where having a higher Homeowners Liability Coverage comes in to rescue you.

Accidents can happen anywhere or with anyone. However, if an accident occurs in your house and it results in bodily injury or damage to a third party’s property, you can be held liable for it. In that case, you’ll have to pay the medical bills and the replacing or repairing cost of the property.

However, with Homeowners Liability Coverage, you don’t have to pay a single penny out of your pocket.

What is Homeowners Liability Coverage?

Liability Coverage is an important component of Homeowners Insurance or Rental Insurance. It protects the insurer and their family against medical or property damage claims, resulting from an accident in or out of their house.

Now that you know the definition of personal liability, let’s take a real-life example: Suppose you have a guest in your house. While passing through the garage, he is hit by the falling ladder. The guest suffers a broken leg and sues you for the damages. In this case, the amount can be thousands of dollars.

Personal Liability helps you pay all the medical and property damage expenses. Liability Coverage also pays the lawyer fee in case of a lawsuit against you.

What Does Homeowners Liability Coverage Cover?

The liability coverage usually has three types of covers:

  • Bodily Injury to an individual
  • Damage to someone else property
  • Lawyer fee- in case of lawsuits

One important thing to mention here is, this coverage only covers the damage done to other people or their property. That means it will not pay for the broken window glass of your house. You can buy other commercial insurances to cover such damages.

Who Can Avail of the Homeowners Liability Coverage?

Liability Coverage not only covers the insurer but also their parents, spouse, child, and their pets. Here are some examples:

  • Your dog bites someone. This coverage will pay for the medical bills of that person.
  • A tree from your yard falls on the neighbor’s car. Liability Coverage will pay for the repair of their car.
  • Your child hits the glass of the neighbor’s window with a ball when playing. Liability Insurance will pay for the replacement of the broken glass.

What is meant by Liability Coverage Limit?

Liability Coverage Limit is the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay in case of a claim. Typically, this amount is $100,000. That means, if the claim amount is bigger than the limit of the liability coverage, you have to pay the exceeding amount.

Our experts at Paradiso insurance suggest having a minimum of $500,00 limit for Homeowners Liability to avoid paying an exceeding amount. You can choose a bigger limit than $100, 000 when buying the insurance or increase it whenever you want.

You can also consider getting a Personal Umbrella Coverage.

What is Personal Umbrella Coverage?

Umbrella Insurance is the type of liability insurance that covers the excess claims of homeowner’s liability insurance. The best thing is that the coverage is not that expensive. Typically, you can buy umbrella coverage of $1Million for $150 to $300. 

Conclusion

Always remember, the price of insurance depends on one the amount of coverage you’re looking for. At Paradiso Insurance, our professional team ensures that you get the best Homeowner Liability Insurance.

Speak with our experts at (860) 684 5270 or visit our website https://www.paradisoinsurance.com/ for further advice.