Personal Liability vs Personal Injury

Many people get personal injury and personal liability confused. After all we constantly see law firm commercials advocating for personal injury claims but what they really mean is personal liability claims. Confused yet???

Let’s start out with the definition of each and why they are important.

Personal Liability – provides coverage for bodily injury and/or property damage sustained by others for which you or your family members are legally responsible. An example would be someone getting injured at your house from tripping on your steps.

Personal Injury – provides coverage for OTHER THAN bodily injury or property damage. This includes false arrest, detention, or imprisonment; malicious prosecution; wrongful eviction; slander; libel; and invasion of privacy.

This is more of a mental or psychological based claim. An example would be your child makes a harsh remark to a classmate and they mentally hurt them.  Or you deny renting a property to some one because of their race.

Personal Injury coverage is always excluded from a homeowners policy and it must be “endorsed” to the policy to provide coverage. This endorsement costs anywhere from $15-$20 a year.  With today’s social media sites like Facebook, Yelp, Instagram and others, you could be more at risk than you think for a personal injury claim. Keep in mind you are vicariously responsible for your children’s acts while they are on these sites as well. And with this litigious society we live in, people don’t think twice to sue another. Mounting legal fees and plaintiff friendly court systems could leave a major hole in your pocket book without this coverage.

So before you ask for the “cheapest” insurance next time, you might want to reconsider and see what your policy actually covers you for.