Why Liability Coverage is Essential in Your South Carolina Home Insurance Policy
When most people think about home insurance, they picture protection for the house itself—whether from storms, fire, or other damage. But there’s a less-talked-about part of your policy that’s just as important: liability coverage.
Liability coverage is like your safety net, helping protect you from financial risks that could pop up unexpectedly. Let’s dive into why it matters and what it actually covers for homeowners here in South Carolina.
What Exactly Is Liability Coverage?
In simple terms, liability coverage is part of your home insurance that helps cover costs if someone gets hurt on your property or if you accidentally damage someone else’s property.
For example, say a guest trips on your front steps and breaks their arm. Your liability coverage could help pay for their medical bills or any legal fees if they decide to sue. The same goes if your child accidentally throws a baseball through your neighbor’s window (though it might not make sense to file a small claim like this).
Without liability coverage, these situations could come out of your own pocket—and let’s face it, medical bills and lawsuits can add up quickly.
What Does Liability Coverage Cover?
Let’s break it down a bit more. Liability coverage generally helps with:
- Medical expenses: If someone is injured on your property, your policy can help cover their medical bills, whether it’s for a quick trip to urgent care or something more serious.
- Legal fees: If you’re sued because someone was hurt on your property or your actions caused damage, liability coverage can help cover your defense costs.
- Damages you cause to others’ property: If you or a family member accidentally damages someone else’s property, like their fence or car, your policy can help cover the repair costs.
What Liability Coverage Doesn’t Cover
While liability coverage is broad, it doesn’t cover everything. Here are some key things it won’t help with:
- Your own injuries or property damage: If you slip and fall in your own home or damage your own belongings, that’s not covered by liability. Your health insurance and the property damage section of your home insurance would come into play here.
- Intentional damage: If you intentionally damage someone else’s property, that’s not covered. Liability coverage only applies to accidents or unintentional events.
- Business-related accidents: If you run a home business, liability from business-related accidents isn’t typically covered by your standard home insurance. You’d need separate business insurance for that.
Why It Matters for South Carolina Homeowners
Living in South Carolina means many of us enjoy spending time outdoors, hosting barbecues, and socializing with friends and family at home. But more gatherings and activities at home can increase the risk of accidents happening on your property.
Whether you’re in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, or anywhere in between, having solid liability coverage in place gives you peace of mind. You don’t have to worry as much about the “what-ifs” because you’ve already got a plan in place if something goes wrong.
Other Considerations When Thinking About Liability Coverage
- Personal Injury on a home insurance policy sounds misleading. The typical unendorsed policy does not provide it, and when available, you should look into adding this coverage (usually around $10 – 20 per year). This endorsement protects you against claims for non-physical injuries such as: false arrest, detention or imprisonment, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, and wrongful eviction or wrongful entry. *This can and will vary by carrier, so it is best to read your policy and endorsements!
- Animal Liability is typically a part of or included in the policy liability limit. BUT many companies/policies have restrictions and/or limitations. It is very common to see a sublimit of $5,000, $25,000, or whatever for Animal Liability. In some cases, you have the option to increase the limit. Also, many policies do not allow certain breeds of dogs (or other potentially dangerous animals) so that the policy will not cover the liability and/or it may be cancelled for particular breeds (or not written in the first place). Some common breeds on companies’ lists are: Dobermanns, American Pit Bull, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Chow Chow, Wolf or Wolf hybrid, Presa Canario, Akita, and others. *This is not an exhaustive list, and it does vary by company.
- Personal Liability vs. Premise Liability: In a nutshell, Personal Liability is more comprehensive as it can provide coverage for the home property and even sometimes worldwide. On the other hand, Premise Liability is pretty much just for the premise described on the policy (usually the home address). In general, a true home insurance policy (owner occupied) provides Personal Liability and rental dwelling policy (landlord) provides Premise Liability. *This also can vary by policy form or company. Not a full explanation – Read your policy!
- The Coverage Limit You Carry should be considered. It is typical for a home insurance policy to provide a limit of $100,000, $300,000, or $500,000 (or more). In most cases you can raise the limit (for example) from 300K to 500K for about $15 per year. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
*Like most of the blogs I write – this is meant to be general help, and you should read your policy for the most accurate coverage information.
