Five Things You Should Know About Liability Insurance
1. In today’s litigious society, 1 in every 12 Americans is sued each year, rendering liability insurance crucial in protecting yourself and your loved ones. Although many people believe that it won’t happen to them, the frightening reality is that anyone can be sued. Could your otherwise friendly dog sense fear and harm someone? Could you be deemed at fault for a car accident? Could someone sustain an injury on your property? These are just a few of the common ways you can be confronted with a lawsuit, jeopardizing your family’s finances.
2. Whether you are a home or business owner, one important type of liability insurance is an umbrella insurance policy. Providing an additional layer of liability coverage on top of your existing policy’s liability limits, this type of coverage proves invaluable in the event of an accident or other situation that evolves into a lawsuit. For instance, if your auto insurance policy has a liability limit of $250,000 and you lose a $500,000 lawsuit resulting from an accident, you will be left to finance the remaining $250,000 alone. An umbrella policy can prevent this, providing you with additional liability coverage in million dollar increments to help you finance the costs of lawsuits, settlements and jury awards. Without this additional coverage, a serious accident can leave you confronted with a financial disaster. A commercial umbrella policy functions in the same way, providing you with additional liability coverage for your business, on top of your commercial general liability policy’s existing liability limits.
3. As a business owner, there is a specific type of liability insurance that concerns you – commercial general liability coverage. In addition to your worker’s compensation coverage and insurance for your commercial property, this type of liability coverage will also prove invaluable in protecting your business from financial disaster. In the event that your company is confronted with one of the most common types of lawsuits filed against businesses, which include discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination according to Chron.com, your insurance will provide coverage. Since losing a lawsuit could force some small companies out of business, this type of coverage plays a significant role in protecting the company you’ve worked hard to build.
4. Liability insurance is not only important for home and business owners, but also it proves crucial in protecting people considered to provide professional services, like medical professionals. While all providers of professional services should protect themselves with professional liability insurance, physicians tend to face especially high risks. In fact, according to the American Medical Association, six out of every 10 physicians ages 55 and older have been sued, illustrating the importance of professional liability coverage, which protects companies and individuals against loss resulting from acts, errors or omissions in the performance of their professional duties. Professional liability insurance can help protect all medical professionals, from nurse practitioners to pediatricians, from the increased exposures they face.
5. Considering that liability coverage plays a pivotal role in protecting what matters most to you, from your home and family to your business, it’s important to rely on someone you can trust to help guide you through the process of securing this type of coverage. Independent insurance agents will help you understand your options, make coverage recommendations and find the best liability policy for your specific needs, ensuring that your assets remain protected.