This is part two of our post answering the question, “How much home insurance is enough?”
Coverage E – Personal Liability
Next up on a standard home insurance policy is Coverage E, which helps pay for your financial liability for a third-party’s injuries or property damages. These losses can quickly climb from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars or more – money you could be personally responsible for paying if you have insufficient coverage. Instead of facing wage garnishment or liquidation of assets, take steps to protect your family now with high-limit personal liability insurance.
What’s Covered?
Personal liability covers losses and injuries stemming from a broad range of events, both on your property and away from it. It also extends to cover damages caused by the members of your household, including your children and pets. In fact, it covers most injury and property damage-related losses apart from those caused by excluded events, such as car and boat accidents.
Examples of common home insurance liability claims include:
- Bicycle accidents
- Dog-related injuries, such as bites
- Injured house guests
We recommend working with an independent agent here at Pentagon Insurance to assess your risk vulnerability and determine how much asset protection your family could need in a lawsuit.
Coverage F – Medical Payments
Medical payments coverages are next to be listed on a standard home insurance policy. Like personal liability coverage, it helps pay for third-party injuries, only with more specificity and under different terms. Typically, medical payments coverage is offered for third-party injuries occurring in your home or somewhere on your property. It carries low limits–usually between $1,000 and $5,000–that is designed to pay for doctor’s visits or deductibles. However, no fault needs to be established to receive benefits.
Endorsements
Your home insurance policy may or may not contain endorsements to increase your coverage and benefits. Though optional, we here at Pentagon Insurance typically recommend all homeowners consider which endorsements could better minimize their risk of unexpected loss.
For example, it is not uncommon for homeowners to find out they are not automatically covered for a water backup. A simple policy endorsement can help ensure you are covered for damages resulting from water or sewer backups in your home. In addition to water and sewer backup, you may also benefit from additional endorsements such as:
- Dwelling Inflation Guard
- Home business coverage
- Replacement value endorsement for personal belongings
- Scheduled benefits for belongings with high-appraisal values
Beyond Home Insurance
Your home insurance policy may not be meeting all your needs – even if you purchase the highest available limits. This is particularly true if you face a million-dollar lawsuit for which a $300,000 personal liability limit only pays a fraction of. That is why we recommend talking with an agent about adding an umbrella policy to your insurance portfolio.
Umbrella policies offer supplemental liability protection above the limits of your primary coverage. They usually come with limits of $1 million or more – all for an average of $200 per year or less. That could be the difference between financial security and financial ruin. To find out more about how an umbrella insurance policy can provide valuable asset and income protection for your family, contact the team here at Pentagon Insurance today.
Peter Cole, insurance agent and partner at Pentagon Insurance Agency in Elk River, MN, began his career in the industry more than 30 years ago. He prides himself on backing up every sale by personally providing service to his clients and by providing the coverage they need at the best possible price.
Contact Peter to discuss your situation today!
