Homeowners Insurance: What You Should Know
Homeowner’s insurance includes liability in the event that someone is injured on your property. When this happens, they will likely file a third party claim against your insurance company in order to receive compensation for their losses.
Similarly, you would file a third party claim against the insurance of another party if you were injured on their property. Let’s explore what types of incidents homeowner’s insurance covers and how a personal injury attorney can help you’re the one who’s been injured on another person’s property.
What Injuries Does Your Insurance Cover?
Most injuries that would occur on your personal property are likely accidental, so your homeowner’s insurance will likely cover the expenses. Personal injury accidents are generally the result of negligence. For example, if your guest trips, falls and injures themselves on debris left lying around your property, you would be considered negligent since you failed to demonstrate a reasonable amount of care.
While many injuries are covered under the concept of negligence, others are covered under “strict liability” and do not require the injured party to prove negligence. A good example of this is with dog bites. Many states, including Tennessee, hold owners accountable for when their dog bites someone regardless of your role in the incident. In these cases, the injured party can make a claim against your homeowner’s insurance for their injuries.
Lastly, let’s discuss incidents that your insurance does not cover, such as intentional acts. If you purposefully harm someone who is on your property, you, rather than your homeowner’s insurance, will be liable for that person’s injuries.
Understanding Your Homeowner’s Insurance
When someone is injured on your property in a way that is covered by your homeowner’s insurance, your insurer will compensate the injured person for all expenses resulting from their injury. This includes their income lost from an inability to work, their medical expenses and any pain, suffering and other damages they experience. Additionally, your insurer will provide your defense in the event that the injured party files a lawsuit against you.
As we stated, your insurance company covers the injured party’s expenses associated with their injuries, but it’s important to understand that they only cover expenses up to the limits of your policy. So if you have $2000,000 in liability insurance, your insurer will only pay up to that amount.
In the unlikely event that their injuries add up to more than this amount, your insurance policy may also include an umbrella provision protecting you from being responsible for covering the remaining amount. If your insurance does not include this, however, you would be liable for compensating the injured person for the remainder of their claim.
Contact an Injury Attorney at Mitch Grissim & Associates
If you’ve been injured on another person’s property and are seeking compensation, an experienced injury attorney can assist you in this endeavor. The legal professionals at Mitch Grissim & Associates have been helping injury victims for over three decades. Contact us today to find an injury attorney to represent you.
