Home ownership carries with it more than the financial freedom, there are mortgage payments, land taxes, and the maintenance and upkeep associated with aging houses. There are also the joys of investing in your own future, paying towards home equity instead of paying someone else to live in their home. However, home ownership also carries with it a certain amount of liability. If an injury were to happen to someone, while in the normal use of your home, you could be held accountable for any medical and financial hardships endured or expected in the future by the injured party. Knowing the top five danger areas around your home is a major start in protecting yourself, and your family, from possible injuries, civil litigation and possible financial ruin. Addressing those hot spots with your insurance agent is the best start to protecting yourself from such injuries and lawsuits.
Insured homeowners are covered by their insurance companies for any accidents occurring on their property. The areas in and around the home that are most popular with accidents include the front entrance, where ice and falling debris cause extremely dangerous conditions. The swimming pool, where people can drown if not watched closely, especially children with guts but no swimming skills. The back yard/deck is another safety issue, with ice falling on people from the roof, people falling through cracked or rotted wooden steps or deck planks.
The kitchen is one of the most dangerous places in the house, other than patios on highrise apartments and condos. People burn themselves or get burned by someone else, fall in wet spots on the floor, get electrocuted from faulty kitchen appliances, or any other kitchen related injuries. The bathrooms finish up the top five danger spots in your home, just waiting for accidents to happen.
In order to minimize the risk of injury or litigious accidents, the homeowner can have a risk assessment done on their home by an insurance agent, which will point out any problems that could arise when company comes calling. The insurance also protects against people using your property while performing their duties, like mailmen and meter readers.
If someone is hurt while visiting you, or even while using your pool without your permission, you could be responsible for their consequent medical bills and financial losses from their injury. You could be held responsible for all costs associated with the injured party’s loss of enjoyment of life, and their loss of income, present and future. The only exclusion would be for someone who is injured while committing a crime on your property, which excludes them from filing liability claims.
If an accident were to happen in or around your home, while you do not have homeowner’s insurance, you would most likely have to pay all medical bills, funeral or long-term care facility costs, home care attendant costs, education related expenses, and all aspects of the injured person’s life, as well as the parent’s costs and associated civil litigation payments if the person were to die. This would basically mean saying goodbye to all of your dreams of financial stability or a comfortable retirement, let alone home ownership, as civil litigation would surely follow.
The top five danger areas around your home are just the beginning in the nightmare that can be civil litigation, especially if it is proven that the homeowner has skipped regular, scheduled maintenance that resulted in the injury or death of the visitor. If the accident can be proven to be the fault of the homebuilder, then suing the home builder is a possibility as well.
Compared to what an accident could end up costing you, the cost of adequate homeowner’s insurance would be minimal. Insurance would provide you and your family with peace of mind with regard to the safety of your home, and safety from financial litigation from the people who become injured within your home and property. So call, or visit at least three different insurnce agents, and get quotes on full coverage for home ownership liablity. Talk to friends and family, and collectively select the best homeowner’s insurance for your personal requirements.
Safety and peace of mind are well worth the cost of insurance.