Give That Man A 10

In my blog I always try to explain insurance concepts in such a way that they are easy to understand. The best and easiest way for me, personally, is by stories……experiences.

The liability coverage under home and renters insurance was the hardest for me to come up with a story. Liability is a “third party” coverage. In other words, the owner of the insurance policy never sees a dime of it. They had to be responsible for whatever happened for the liability coverage to pay out, and then it goes to restore whoever or whatever was damaged or injured.

You will be happy to know my “can’t find a story” problem is over thanks to Ciscoe Morris. The western Washington gardening guru provided the perfect one! In his Thursday, November 29, 2012 Seattle Times article “Picking The Perfect Poinsettia” he went on to describe his pet walking gymnastics (used by permission):
“I’ll never forget on a frozen evening in late November when I managed to complete my first quadruple axel followed by a double lutz. Unfortunately I wasn’t figure skating. I was walking my puppy, Fred, and my aerial twists and spins were a direct result of slipping on a sheet of ice. A neighbor forgot to turn off her sprinkler system at the end of the season. When it ran on a freezing night, it turned the sidewalk into a skating rink. Miraculously, I somehow managed to stay on my feet, but it could easily have ended less fortuitously.”

He went on to give advice regarding how/when irrigation systems should be turned off.

THAT IS A GREAT HOMEOWNERS LIABILITY STORY. The homeowners negligence could have seriously injured Mr. Morris (and Fred). Besides the medical costs, his stature in the community and contribution to the area media, ancillary damage could make the claim sky rocket.

This portrays the importance of the liability coverage. It is protection for you and your assets from the doofy things you and any of us can do.