Many people aren’t entirely sure what’s covered by various insurance policies. Are you one of them? One of the most common things people wonder about their policy is if homeowners insurance covers personal injury. The answer has a few layers to it.
Homeowners insurance reduces your liability
Your homeowners insurance does a lot of things. One of the most important functions of homeowners insurance is that it protects you from lawsuits if a guest is injured on your property. Say someone comes over to your house and they end up injuring themselves through some kind of accident. As long as your own negligence or intent wasn’t directly involved in their injury, your homeowners insurance protects you against liability.
Are you protected away from home?
Say you accidentally injure someone while away from home. Will you still be protected by homeowners insurance? Depending on your policy,as long as it wasn’t on purpose, or something that should be covered by another form of insurance (businesses, auto, etc.), your homeowners insurance may still cover you when you’re in a public place. You might want to get a free homeowners insurance quote just to be sure that you have this coverage in your plan, as it’s one of the most important forms of protection, but policy specifics tend to differ.
How are injury expenses covered by homeowners insurance?
There are two aspects to personal injury coverage through homeowners insurance: personal liability and medical costs. The personal liability aspect is just whether or not you can be held responsible for the accidental injury of another person—on your own property or off-premises (depending on your policy’s coverage). As long as you can prove you didn’t act maliciously, personal liability should protect you from any legal repercussions resulting from the accident. The other half of the equation, medical costs, is what helps pay for the medical expenses of the injured person. This coverage makes sure that you won’t have to pay any of the medical bills of a guest who gets hurt on your property.
Does homeowners insurance cover my injuries?
The next logical step is to wonder if it protects you from having to pay medical bills if you or a family member is injured on your property. Your own injuries should be covered by your medical insurance, which is a completely separate kind of coverage either through your place of employment or a healthcare marketplace. It does not substitute for health insurance.
Is it safe to go without homeowners’ insurance?
Due to the fact that you are exposing yourself to legal action if anyone is injured on your property, neglecting it isn’t the most prudent move. If someone is hurt acting in a way that you absolutely couldn’t control, maybe you’ll be okay. However, if they have a good lawyer, there’s really no guarantee that you’ll win the case. If someone is on your property without your permission or knowledge and is hurt, they could win a claim if you don’t have homeowners insurance. It will protect you from being sued in the event of someone being injured on your property. Since that can happen at any time, and without warning, do yourself the favor: get homeowners insurance. It’s worth noting that many mortgage lenders actually require homeowners to take out a policy before purchasing a home, so getting adequate coverage is often mandatory. Your homeowners insurance policy should cover personal injury cases that don’t involve malicious intent. To be sure you’re covered, get a free homeowners insurance quote, or talk with an insurance representative about your current plan.