Homeowners Liability And Insurance Policy Issues After An Accident

If someone owns a business or commercial property, it is highly likely that they have liability insurance–the insurance that pays other people for their injuries, and thus, avoid the property owner from being personally liable to compensate the victim.

But homeowners insurance is somewhat different from commercial liability policies that businesses or offices or establishments open to the public normally use.

Why It’s Important

Homeowners insurance can be vital for both homeowner, and victim.

For the homeowner, as you may imagine, homeowners insurance is protection; in the event that homeowner is a bit careless or forgets to fix or maintain property, and injures someone, the verdict from an injury lawsuit won’t bankrupt them or cause them to lose their personal assets.

From the victim’s standpoint insurance is a way to ensure that if the victim does win or settle his or her liability case, that there will be a pocket that will pay whatever is owed.

Where the Accident Happens

Homeowners insurance will cover any accident that happens inside the home because of the homeowner’s negligence, but in some cases, it may even cover accidents that happen outside the home, but which are caused by items stored in the home. Common examples are injuries caused by dog bites or golf carts outside the home.

Policy Exclusions

But one problem with homeowners insurance, are exclusions. Unlike commercial policies, homeowners policies tend to have a lot of exclusions. These are things that the insurance policy specifically does not insure.

Just as an example, most homeowners’ policies will cover injuries caused by accident or negligence–imagine a spill on a floor, or a stair handrail that is wobbly and causes someone to fall.

But many homeowner’s policies won’t cover injuries caused by dogs of certain breeds, or for injuries caused by golf carts, or injuries caused by any kind of intentional act. Many policies have lists of things that they don’t cover.

Although every policy can be different, with rising housing costs, many homeowners are opting for cheaper policies–and that often means more exclusions.

When a Homeowner is Liable

Homeowners have a bit more protection than private businesses open to the public may have. Usually as a rule of thumb, homeowners can only be liable for things that the homeowner actually knew were wrong or dangerous. The homeowner cannot be liable for a condition that injures you, when the condition is something hidden or which the homeowner had no idea existed.

In some cases, even when a dangerous condition is known, the law only says that the homeowner has to warn others of the condition–the homeowner may not always have to dutifully repair or fix the condition.

These are defenses that the homeowners insurance will use against people who make claims against other homeowners, when they are injured on their property.

Contact our Rhode Island homeowners liability and accident lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 for help if you were injured on someone else’s property.

Source:

travelers.com/home-insurance/coverage/personal-liability