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eLearning Series:
Your Most Popular Insurance Questions
Answers For Health and Home
Insurance
( 50 articles
in this series )
Bodily Injury
Coverage: What You Should Know
Bodily injury liability coverage is an element
of many different types of insurance policies (auto, homeowner’s
and business insurance) and is meant to protect an individual
should physical harm come to him or her through the action
or inaction of another.
Auto Insurance and Bodily Injury Coverage
There are generally six parts to an all-inclusive auto insurance
policy: personal property liability, personal injury protection
(PIP), uninsured motorist coverage, comprehensive coverage,
collision and bodily injury liability. Personal property liability
covers the policyholder against property damage he or she causes
in the event of an accident; PIP covers the policyholder and
his or her passengers in case of injury; uninsured motorist
coverage protects the driver in the event that he or she is
involved in an accident with another driver who is uninsured;
comprehensive coverage protects the car owner against theft
and natural disasters; and, collision coverage pays for repairs
to the policyholder’s vehicle should it be involved in accident.
The bodily injury portion of the coverage is designed to protect
the policyholder in the event that he or she causes physical
injury to another person while operating a vehicle.
Every U.S. state requires that drivers in their jurisdictions
include a set minimum amount of bodily injury coverage as part
of the auto insurance policy. These state-mandated limits,
however, are generally not enough to cover a very serious accident
and most insurance experts suggest purchasing more than the
legal minimum. In the event of a serious bodily injury claim
and subsequent lawsuit, a policyholder could be in jeopardy
of losing his or her home and property. Those who have substantial
assets to protect might also want to consider purchasing an
umbrella policy that provides supplemental coverage to the
existing ones.
Homeowner’s Insurance and Bodily Injury Coverage
One of the most nightmarish scenarios any homeowner can imagine
is one in which a visitor to the home is seriously injured
in some way. Friendships and family ties have been broken over
such circumstances and finances have been left in ruin. Every
responsible homeowner should review his or her existing homeowner’s
policy and determine what sorts of accidents or injuries are
the responsibilities of the homeowner and which are not.
All homeowner’s policies offer some sort of bodily injury
liability coverage for both visitors and residents. This
coverage protects against just about every possible circumstance
that
could lead to physical injury in the home and includes injuries
caused by the homeowner and anyone residing within the home. Any injuries caused by household pets are also covered.
There are some situations, however, in which bodily injury
that occurs on a homeowner’s premises is not covered by the
homeowner’s insurance policy. If the homeowner runs a business
from the home and the injury sustained relates to the business
in any way, there is no coverage. If the injury occurs in a
rented property, then the homeowner’s insurance will not cover
it – renter’s insurance should contain the necessary coverage.
Another circumstance in which coverage is not provided through
the homeowner’s policy is when the injury is proven to be intended
or expected by the homeowner.
Business Insurance and Bodily Injury Coverage
There are two types of insurance that every business owner
needs in order to ensure that he or she is not left vulnerable
to lawsuits stemming from bodily injuries that occur at the
place of business – liability insurance and workman’s compensation
insurance. Liability insurance (optional) is purchased
separately from any other policy and protects the policyholder
in case
anyone within the place of business is injured. If the property
is not actually owned by the business owner then whoever does
own the property will have to carry an additional liability
policy or be added to the business owner’s existing one.
Workman’s
compensation coverage is designed to protect the employees
of a business in case they are injured while on the
job. Every state requires that businesses carry it and each
jurisdiction has a different set of rules for how it works.
In general, the employee is covered for any death or injury
that occurs on the job or any illness that is caused by the
job. Workman’s compensation coverage covers medical expenses,
rehabilitation expenses, lost wages and any other costs incurred
because of the injury or illness. Although an employee is covered
even if the accident leading to injury is his or her fault,
intentional acts are not covered - neither is those injuries
sustained because of drug or alcohol use.
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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2005
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