Home Insurance
Things can happen, sometimes through no fault of your own, and someone gets hurt on your property.
Medical payments coverage is built to handle the small injury costs that may arise when a person is hurt while on your property.
These are generally not a high occurrence type of claim and are usually just minor accidents that happen, not enough to actually sue for against the property owners liability coverage.
For example, your neighbor stops by and trips on the last stair of your deck. In doing so, they fall and sprain their ankle. Their medical costs may fall under their personal health insurance deductible or out of pocket limit. Your medical payments limit can be used to cover that gap.
Difference between Liability and Medical Payments
Your property insurance policy is broken into two sections. Section 2 covers your Personal Liability and Medical Payments Coverage. Also know as Coverage E & F.
Personal Liability Coverage provides coverage to pay for claims resulting from bodily injury and property damage sustained by others which you or a resident of your household are legally responsible for.
Personal liability also extends outside of your insured property and covers your general liability. An example where this can come it play is if you are golfing and slice a shot into the other fairway, hit someone in the head that causes injuries. Your personal liability coverage will protect you.
Where your personal liability coverage requires you to be held legally liable for the injury, medical payments coverage will pay regardless of who is at fault.
How much medical payments coverage do I need?
Most property insurance policies carry an automatic limit of $1,000 with options to increase up to a maximum of $5,000.
It is very inexpensive to increase that coverage to that maximum limits if you choose to do so.
Medical payments claims are generally not a high occurrence type of claim. In the past 40 years, I believe our agency has only seen 1 claim filed. Having the included coverage limit of $1,000 generally should be enough coverage for you.
What’s Next?
As we mentioned, the type of coverage limit you have for medical payments coverage is not nearly as important as your personal liability coverage.
If you do not know what your personal liability coverage limit is, now is a great time to review.
Reach out to your insurance agent to have this conversation, if you don’t have a relationship with an agent or want a review of your insurance then click the button below to schedule a review with one of our trusted insurance advisors.
