In short…
Liability Insurance protects you financially if you are responsible for damage or injury to others. Liability coverage helps pay for attorney & defense costs, evidence & document gathering, medical payments, property damage, judgements, and settlements.
A few claim situations where liability coverage may apply:
Accidental injury to others:
- A visitor breaks an arm after tripping on the broken sidewalk and steps.
- An employee mops the floor and forgets to put up a caution sign to warn customers about the wet floors. A customer slips, falls, and sustains injury.
Product Liability (Business):
- A restaurant’s undercooked chicken causes food poisoning in patrons.
Property Damage:
- You didn’t get around to cutting down the dead tree in your yard, and the neighbors have asked you to remove it. The wind blows the tree onto the neighbor’s home and/or vehicles.
- Delivery personnel, installers, or other repairmen are working in a client’s home. They accidentally knock over and break an antique item.
- A contractor is working on a home and accidentally breaks a water line causing damage to the home.
Reputational Liability:
- A business gets sued for slander or libel to others.
- Infringement on a copyright or for using someone else’s advertising idea
Automobile:
- You stop at a stop sign and proceed to pull onto the highway. You didn’t notice the oncoming vehicle and a collision occurs.
- An employee has an accident with another party when he failed to stop at a stop sign. The other party sustains property damage and is also injured.
Workers Compensation:
- An employee is injured while performing a work-related task and has medical costs and lost wages.
Pollution Liability:
- You accidentally spill a large amount of chemical that requires remediation or cleanup.
- Coverage can include legal costs, emergency response costs &/or cleanup costs for various kinds of environmental pollution.
These are just a few examples of possible liability claims. Do you have enough liability coverage to protect you and your finances?
Umbrella Liability: Additional protection in case you underlying coverage isn’t adequate.
- You are responsible for damages and medical payments in a major automobile accident that involves a loaded semi-truck/trailer, camper, and a Mercedes. There are injuries that will result in major surgeries, lost wages, and pain & suffering.
- A burglar breaks into your garage while you are on vacation. He doesn’t realize that the garage lock has been broken for some time and you haven’t had time to fix it. The not-so-sly burglar gets locked in your garage for a week and is forced to eat dog food and can only drink the soda pop and Gatorade that is in your spare fridge. He sues for undue mental anguish and WINS in court - to a tune of $1,000,000.
- Your dog gets startled by another dog while you are out walking. The two dogs get into a fight and your dog bites the other dog as well its owner. You are sued for medical expenses, vet bills, lost wages, and pain & suffering.
Liability coverage is very important, and an umbrella policy is an inexpensive way to add another layer of financial protection against significant claims that could destroy your finances and maybe even your lifestyle.
Make sure you have the liability coverage you need…contact us today.
Kathy, Kristen, Allisa, Sara Jo & Ashli
Bruning Insurance Agency