When formulating a plan for Texas homeowners to protect their family and the home that they live in, the agents at Insurance For Texans always discuss personal liability. It is a bit of a misunderstood part of home insurance in Texas. The tort reform bill that was passed over 15 years ago placed a cap on damages that could be awarded to an individual for non-economic damages. Many people don't think that they have much at risk and that people just will not sure them anymore due to the changes in the law. While the number of suits has dropped along with the money awarded, there is still a need to make sure you are protected if something gets initiated.
When Does My Personal Liability Protect Me?
The personal liability portion of your Texas home insurance policy protects you from damages or lawsuits for unpredictable things that happen both on your property and even away. Some of these examples are more obvious to understand than others.
On Property Examples
- Tree on your property that had known issues falls on a neighbor's home
- Guest trips over an exposed wire and required extensive medical care
- Guest slips and falls around your pool and hits their head
Off Property Examples
- You wreck a rented golf cart during your round causing major damage
- Your slow speed off road vehicle driven by your child hits another vehicle
The resulting payouts from these situations may not be a lot of money, and certainly would fall below the allowable limits of the law. The question then becomes why do I need higher limits?
Why Higher Personal Liability Limits Are Important
If most of the items are lower in amount of money required, why should I worry about carrying personal liability? And if I do, why would I want to carry $500,000 or more in coverage? Let's lay out a checklist to make sure you have a handle on why you should carry this coverage.
- Damage to property of others can rack up a large bill that you do not want to pay out of your pocket
- Medical bills can climb for someone injured on your property for an issue that you may not even be aware of
- Even though non-economic damages are capped by the Texas tort reform, items attributed to you from the above bullet points can easily climb beyond $100,000 or $300,000
- Do you want to secure an attorney to navigate and defend claims that are made against you or let the insurance company do that for you
- The price difference between $100,000 and even $500,000 is typically less than $2 a month out of your pocket
If your insurance agent is acting a trusted adviser on your behalf, these five line items make it necessary to recommend this important coverage. When doing a review it is always shocking to see how many agents think saving a a dollar here is more important than protecting your long term financial future.
If you are looking for a local Texas based set of independent insurance agents, Insurance For Texans is always going to work on your behalf rather than some big insurance company. Little details like those make large impacts on your future.
