LIABILITY AND PROPRIETY INSURANCE

Today, more than at any item in history, people tend to settle their disputes in court. We have been described as a nation of "Suers" ( not "Sewers"). Awards to plaintiffs in recent years have been astronomical even when the defendant's liability has not been based on intentional wrongdoing or evennegligence. No matter how well a person has planned in all other areas of his life, if he has inadequate liabilitycoverage he risks being wiped out financially by a single lawsuit.

It is impossible to avoid all risk. Even if you were to stay in bed all day your dog might bite a passer-by; a tree might topple and destroy your garage or that of a neighbor; fire might break out in the basement, with or without any negligence on your part; a family member might be involved in an accident with your car; the postman might trip on the front stairs; your son might hit a baseball through old lady.Fearful's window, causing her to have a heart attack, and so on indefinitely. From your bed you could find yourself involved in a myriad of lawsuits; some of them groundless! Like it or not, you would be stuck with the trouble and expense of defending yourself against these claims unless you had the foresight to acquire property and liability insurance.

(AART) Accept, AvoiD, Reduce or Transfer the risk. In relegating each identifiable risk to its proper category, we must view it in the light of our overall financial picture. Since a home is often the major part of a family's net worth, the risk of destruction can neither be accepted or wholly avoided. Certainly by proper maintenance and good housekeeping ( disposing of old rags and papers as a potential fire hazard for example) the risk of destruction to your home can be reduced. Almost universally, however, people would agree the risk must be transferred.

Homeowners policies are not just for home owners, there are special policies for tenants also. Besides insuring your home against things like fire, lightning and vandalism, personal property coverage is thrown-in and combined with the all important comprehensive personal liability coverage so necessary today. A homeowners policy is cheap when compared with the price of buying separately the three policies mentioned above. There are seven common variations of homeowners policies. The recommended reading list will point you to information which will explain more thoroughly just how each policy differs. You and your agent, by taking into consideration your specific financial situation and exposure to risk, should be able to decide on a homeowners policy that is best for you.

If you recall, both health and life insurance policies had 31-day grace periods in which your coverage continued even though the premium was late. There are no grace periods, as such, when speaking of liability and property insurance. When premiums are late you're not covered (unless another agreement can and should be worked out with your agent in advance). CPL (Comprehensive Personal Liability Insurance) does pay property damage and for medical expenses incurred by a third party whether the insured is to blame or not.

Of course there are certain legal technicalities; such as the determination of "trespasser statutes" and eliminating the possibility of their having been an intentional tort. However, the fact remains that benefits can be paid to a third partyregardless of the insured's fault; something that is often overlooked by most people! Therefore any accident or injury should be reported if it occurred on your property or was caused by your self, family, employee or animal.

You should, of course, read your policy carefully paying particular attention to things that may suspend or reduce your coverage, such as leaving a property vacant over a specified length of time. Although many of the exclusions found in " all risk" policies can be insured against with separate policies of their own, you should be aware of them. A few are: flood, earthquake, professional and business oriented liability, automobile, airplane and water craft liability and damage to property used by or rented to or under the custody of the insured.

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