Personal liability insurance provides coverage that helps pay for claims of bodily injury or property damage when you or other covered residents are held personally responsible for the incident.
For example, if someone is injured after falling down the stairs in your home, you may be held personally liable. In this case, personal liability insurance may help cover your liability expenses up to your coverage limit.
Coverage limits for personal liability insurance are typically anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000. Additional coverage can be obtained via an umbrella insurance policy. This may be considered necessary if your home has a pool, trampoline, or other amenities that are more likely to cause injury.
What Does it Cover?
If you are held liable for bodily injury or property damage, your personal liability insurance policy may help pay for a wide range of associated expenses, including lawyer fees, judgments, medical costs, lost wages, property damage expenses, and life insurance death benefits.
Incidents covered by personal liability insurance may include:
- Injuries on your property caused by negligence
- Injuries on your property that occur by accident
- Dog bites
- Property destruction caused by your dog
- Accidental property damage
- A diseased tree that falls over and damages a neighbor’s property
Personal liability insurance covers various common incidents to help ensure that homeowners are financially protected and able to offset any damages.
What is Not Covered?
Your homeowners insurance policy will list any incidents that are not covered by your personal liability coverage.
This might include:
- Property damage or injuries caused by a non-relative or someone that is not named in your policy
- Injuries or property damage that is caused by your business
- Vehicle damage
- Intentional acts
- Dog bites from certain breeds named in your policy
Be sure to review your policy to understand what is not covered by your personal liability insurance.
How Much Does it Cost?
Personal liability insurance is typically very affordable, but the specific cost depends on several factors, including:
- Coverage limit
- Location
- Claim history
- Home age
- Home features
Typically, you can expect to pay under around $50 per year for personal liability insurance. However, this cost might be higher for residents in major metropolitan areas.
How Much Coverage Do You Need?
The amount of personal liability coverage you need depends largely on your risk tolerance, the combined value of your assets, and your property’s unique risk factors.
Personal liability insurance protects claimants from going after your assets, so if your home is worth $350,000, then you will likely want at least that much in personal liability coverage. It’s also important to consider additional risk factors, like pools and trampolines, which make personal injury more likely.
Personal liability insurance is one of the cheapest homeowners insurance coverages, and as such, many homeowners may find it worth it to max out their personal liability coverage.
Other Common Home Insurance Coverages
Personal liability coverage is just one component of homeowners insurance. Your homeowners insurance policy will likely contain several common coverages, including:
- Dwelling coverage: Covers your home’s structure against damages caused by covered perils.
- Other structures coverage: Covers any detached structures on your property, such as a detached garage or shed.
- Loss of use coverage: If your home becomes temporarily uninhabitable, loss of use coverage will help pay for additional living expenses.
- Personal property coverage: Covers personal property inside of your home if it is damaged, vandalized, or stolen.
- Medical payments coverage: Pays for medical expenses if a guest is injured on your property.
These coverages combined with personal liability insurance protect homeowners from a wide range of events that may otherwise cause extreme financial damages.
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Personal liability insurance offers homeowners essential coverage that helps them pay for medical and legal expenses if they are held liable for bodily injury or property damage.
At KSA Insurance, we work with homeowners in South Carolina and across the southeastern United States to help them find comprehensive homeowners insurance policies that protect them, their families, and their property against a variety of risks.
Contact us today to request a quote and learn more about personal liability insurance.
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