Homeowner Liability Insurance: Coverage, Risks & Exclusions

Personal injuries caused by negligence are often covered by liability insurance. If you own property, drive a car, or operate a business, you probably know that you are exposed to all sorts of legal liabilities that, thankfully, are covered by many different types of insurance liability policies.

This article focuses on homeowner liability insurance. 

Homeowner Insurance Coverage

Generally speaking, a homeowner’s policy covers personal injury and property damage sustained by third parties for which the insured or other household residents are legally responsible.

Types of Risks Homeowner Insurance Covers

Homeowners and property owners regularly carry liability insurance to protect themselves from claims for personal injuries that occur on their premises. 

This means that if your dog bites the mailman or a guest is injured inside your home, you will be protected by homeowners liability insurance. 

Your homeowner insurance company would not only pay the injured person’s claim if proven, but it would also furnish you with a legal defense that is devoted to your interests. 

Types of Risks Outside The Home 

Your homeowner’s liability coverage extends to the land owned by the homeowner, such as the front lawn, driveway, and backyard, and other areas outside the home but naturally falls under the owners management and control, such as the homeowners trees that extend dangerously over your neighbors property. 

Your homeowner’s policy does not cover you when you are outside the home but in other enclosures, such as your lawyer’s office. But this doesn’t mean your lawyer is not covered for your physical injuries inside their office or the professional malpractice they commit in the legal work they perform on your behalf. 

This is true for other professionals, such as doctors, accountants, architects, and engineers, who regularly carry professional liability insurance to cover them for any damages caused to you resulting from their negligence.

Exclusions To Homeowner Insurance 

Unless you carry a special endorsement, even if you are inside your home, your homeowner insurance will not extend to claims such as:

• Slander
• Libel
• Intentional acts 
• Home-based business activities 
• Diseases you pass on to another person 
• Claims by one household member against another

If you have been injured due to another’s negligence, if the person claims they do not have liability insurance, check with a personal injury attorney for guidance. Your lawyer might discover an insurance policy or extended coverage that might apply to your  situation that you would not have otherwise found.

Personal Injury Attorneys

If you have questions or require additional information about your legal rights and obligations, consult a verified Personal Injury Lawyer as soon as possible.