Accidental damage that results in injury or property loss falls under the umbrella of personal liability when the accident is your fault. Often, in situations of insurance payouts, liability is the single most important factor when evaluating claims and reparations.
To face such a situation, it is essential to know what personal liability is, how it’s defined, and in what situations it will be deemed relevant. While similar to professional liability insurance, the information in this article will help determine the value of personal liability insurance and the differences between other policies. In general, it’s in place to avoid paying for these damages out of your own pocket.
As a property renter, you will likely have renter’s insurance and homeowner’s insurance already. If personal liability coverage (see here) isn’t included, you may want to consider adding it to your plan package to cover these accidents in case they should occur. Read on to discover why personal liability insurance is essential for property renters.
What is Liability?
Defining liability is an important first step to determining the value of personal liability insurance. Any time you are held legally responsible for an accident or injury, liability comes into play. A situation where liability is clear could include a guest falling at your house and breaking their arm or a child chucking a baseball through a window. Accidental property damage like this is one of the things covered by personal liability insurance.
In these situations, liability would be clear. Other situations can get more complicated in terms of determining liability, particularly in the case of business owners and renters.
A customer that slips and falls at a business and breaks their arm may sue the business or a private individual for the medical costs and damages. However, liability may not be the owner’s responsibility; for instance, if the customer was wandering in an employees-only area when the accident occurred.
Determining liability in cases of slip and fall accidents is another matter related to the type of business, the nature of the accident, and the insurance policies of everyone involved. As a renter, you need to know these limits to know how liable you are if your tenants have an accident.
If you’re a tenant yourself, you need to be aware that your landlord’s insurance probably doesn’t cover your accidents. Many property renters require proof of renter’s insurance before they let tenants move in. This is so tenants know that if their belongings are stolen or they have an accident on the premises, the landlord’s policies won’t pay them for damages.
Landlord Liability
As a renter or a landlord, the extent of a landlord’s liability is important to know. Stolen or damaged property isn’t usually covered by their policies.
If a renter or homeowner is deemed responsible for an injury on the premises, however, their liability protection may step in to pay damages. Guests to a home would be covered by renter’s insurance, which is often part of the same liability package. This insurance protects property owners if they are found legally liable for an injury that occurs on the premises and guests that are visiting.
This liability insurance has limits, however. Renters insurance liability coverage may payout in cases of property damage or bodily injury, but not in cases where there’s a business on the premises. If your rental home or apartment houses a personal business, you would need separate insurance coverage.
The Takeaway
The personal umbrella policies offered by renter’s insurance liability coverage packages could help a landlord cover damages beyond the limits of their tenant’s personal policies. As a renter, a guest, or tenant being injured on the premises is a financial and legal headache you don’t want. Personal liability insurance on the part of the landlord can cover these claims if they happen on rental premises.
It’s essential to know the limits of these policies to know when you’re covered and when you’re not. Running a business out of the rental property in question, for instance, can radically change how a policy pays out and which damages are covered by liability insurance.
Use this information to start researching policies to find what you need as a prospective tenant or the owner of a rental property.
