Liability Coverage - Homeowners Insurance, Palm Bay, Florida

The last part of the policy we’re gonna talk about is what we call Coverage E or Section 2, as some like to call it, is the liability portion. Up to this point of the conversation, everything has been about property. Tangible property. What happens if the house burns? What happens if my clothes burn in a fire? But an extremely valuable part in the homeowner's insurance policy is this serves as liability coverage for you if cause damage or bodily injury to somebody else. So, if you think about it, if the kids go down the street to play football together, and your kid happens to be the one that hits the growth spurt before everybody else and also happens to be the one to suggests, “Let's play tackle. We’re too old to play touch football anymore.” And there’s an injury during the game, which happens all the time. That is a liability claim against your-- if there’s a liability claim against your family, this homeowner's policy can chip in the necessary funds to cover medical expenses, other expenses related to the injury, whether it be a loss of work, they can’t go to work. They’re losing income, and it can cover if you damage somebody else’s property.

One example, and I’ll give you a good one, and people always think of somebody getting hurt on their property, and this is away from the house as well. It follows you around wherever you go. Couple examples. Let's say your snow skiing, your ski falls off and hits somebody in the head. That’s a liability claim, and your homeowner's will pay it, no deductible. Another one that's famous is Dick Cheney shooting his buddy in the woods. That’s a liability claim. He can go to his company and say, “Listen, this is an accident. I shot him by accident. Please pay his medical bills, loss wages, pain and suffering." That’s a covered claim, you know. You just don’t think about it because nobody wants to read their policy.

And the scary thing about a liability claim is property has a value. It has a set value. You know how much it’s gonna cost to replace a table. You know how much it's gonna cost to replace a shirt.

If you did your cost estimate.

If you did your cost estimate. They’re only worth so much. A liability claim, particularly a bodily injury claim, you just never know. Injuries can manifest. They can develop into something much worse than they were when they started. And they can go on for months, and they can go on for years. So, liability coverage under this policy is extremely valuable. It can pay the cost to defend you if you get brought into a lawsuit because you hurt somebody. This coverage-- it’s extremely important to know exactly how much liability coverage you have.

Keep in mind, too, that a normal policy starts at $100,000, and you can raise it really cheap. You’d be amazed. Normally, you’d go for $100,000. The next level is $300,000. And typically, it’s 18 to 20 bucks a year just to get more coverage.

Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if you’d like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.

Insurance Center of Central Florida
http://www.TheInsuranceCenter.us/
1-888-363-4706