At the beginning of every year our family sits down with a HUGE calendar and fills in important dates. After birthdays and anniversaries and before “xing” out Labor day we fill in the opening day of the Evergreen State Fair. We are always there on the first day. So, last Thursday, August 26th, you know where we were. Do you remember anything else going on that day? If so, you’ll remember the weather: cold, cloudy, rainy, windy and did I mention cold? Eating a delicious, sweet, buttery drippy ear of corn standing under the eaves in the rain and….the…cold.
Oh, and the kids. I finally started asking myself WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE HERE?! I was standing in the rain, seeing my breath come out in little clouds, waiving and smiling at two equally cold and wet grandkids in twirling tea cups.
Don’t get me wrong, the fair was wonderful. It had everything there we expected and some unexpected: cold, wet, windy, rain.
I bring all this up to set the stage for an insurance question that came up: while leaving, we witnessed an accident between and huge two baby stroller and an unsuspecting man walking in front of it. The mom pushing the stroller was looking at something, ran the stroller into the back of the man’s leg, he tripped and fell into a park bench and hurt himself badly: sprained wrist, cut leg and bruises. Inside our group the question came up about whether there would be insurance to possibly cover this accident or not (outside of the injured man’s medical insurance). If that man were angry and/or injured enough to initiate a complaint, would there be coverage?
If that lady had homeowners, condo, or renters insurance with liability coverage, the answer would be yes. The liability coverage within the homeowners (renters) policy might be able to help in this situation. Liability coverage is there to help someone you have injured or restore property you have damaged. If she were to call our office and she had a policy, we would start a claim for her and there is the possibility of insurance help.
I advised her to call her insurance agent and we went home, but it’s important to understand your homeowners and renters insurance is for more than a house fire or theft. Don’t let an accident like the one above cost you your nest egg if you are sued. The liability coverage in your policy can help keep a roof over your head in more ways than one!