Does Homeowners' Insurance Cover Personal Injury Claims?

Most people know that if their home or property is damaged, they can make a claim under their homeowners' insurance policy and get things repaired and back to normal. But if someone is hurt at your house or on your property, your homeowners' insurance will also typically kick in to cover any personal injury claim that's made over the incident.

"First Party" Versus "Third Party" Homeowners' Insurance Claims

When you make a claim under your homeowners' insurance (for water damage caused by a burst pipe, for example), that's called a "first party" claim, since it's your own insurance policy that's providing coverage.

If someone else files a claim under your homeowners' policy (like a visitor to your house who was injured when a stairway railing snapped off), that's called a "third party" claim.

What Is Homeowners Insurance "Personal Liability" Coverage?

When someone else (like that visitor who was injured on your stairs) makes a third-party claim under your homeowners' insurance, they're making it through the "personal liability" provision in that policy.

Your personal liability coverage will pay all of the injured person's losses associated with the injury—which means medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages—up to the limits of your coverage. And if a personal injury lawsuit is filed against you by someone who was hurt on your property, the insurance company will provide a lawyer to handle the case against you (more on this later).

What Kinds of Injury Claims Are Covered By Homeowners' Insurance?

Most injuries to visitors to your home will be covered under your policy, and most of those injuries will probably be based on accidental incidents that are governed by the legal concept of negligence.

A slip and fall accident is a prime example of an incident that would be governed by negligence, meaning that the injured person would need to show that you somehow failed to exercise reasonable care in keeping your property free of hazards, under premises liability standards.

Injuries from dog bites are typically covered under the homeowners' insurance of the dog owner (even when the incident occurs off of your property, more on this later).

What Injuries Aren't Covered By Homeowners' Insurance?

Your homeowners' personal liability insurance will likely not cover:

• an intentional act on your part that injures someone else, such as a situation in which you assault someone on your property
• accidents that injure you or a family member (remember, liability protection is meant for harm caused to visitors and other third parties)
• injuries resulting from the use of trampolines, treehouses, and other equipment and property features that are often specifically excluded from coverage in the fine print of personal liability coverage in a homeowners' insurance policy, and
• injuries that relate to any business you run out of your home.

Can Homeowners' Insurance Cover You Even Away From Home?

Yes, the personal liability coverage in your homeowners' insurance policy can apply in a number of situations where you accidentally cause harm to someone else, even when you're not on your own property. One big exception is when you're driving a vehicle and you injure someone. Car insurance, and not homeowners' insurance, will apply in that situation.

Injury Claims and Homeowners' Insurance Coverage Limits

The amount of financial responsibility for an accident that your homeowners' insurance will absorb depends on the limits of your coverage. So, if you've got $200,000 in personal liability insurance as part of your homeowners' policy, your insurance would pay the injured person up to that amount.

In the real world, most insurance claims settle for an amount that's at or below the policy limits. But in some cases, if the injured person has suffered serious or permanent injuries, their claim might go above the policy limits, and you'll be personally on the hook for any amount above the coverage ceiling. But note that even in cases where your liability limits are exceeded, your homeowners' insurance policy may have an "umbrella" provision in place that provides extra protection in precisely those kinds of instances.

So it pays to have more coverage, even if it raises your premiums a little bit. In most insurance policies, the coverage limit varies exponentially based on how much of a premium you are paying—the higher the premium, the higher the liability coverage ceiling.

If there has been any kind of incident at your home or on your property, and you think an injury claim might be filed and your homeowners' coverage might be triggered (whether a slip and fall, a dog bite, or anything else), the first step is letting your insurance company know about the incident.

Homeowners' Insurance Coverage Usually Includes Legal Defense

A secondary benefit of having a homeowners' policy in place is that the insurance company will typically appoint—and pay for—an attorney to deal with any lawsuit that stems from the underlying incident. In other words, you probably won't need to hire your own lawyer, which is good news for you and your wallet. Hiring a personal injury lawyer can be expensive if you're the one being sued.