Premises Liability Insurance

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Premises Liability Insurance

Premises Liability Insurance

Premises Liability Insurance. In contemporary society, property owners usually take many precautions to minimize liability. In spite of this, owners still face the risk of liability claims against them. That's why it's important to have premises liability insurance coverage. This insurance often protects the premises owner from claims such as injury and property damage, which occur within the premises. Slip and fall is the most common claim.

In the majority of the cases, claims usually originate from disgruntled customers or guests who are injured on the property. Even though the premises liability insurance is essential to property owners, it is imperative to understand that it has its limitations. This article discusses the scope the premises liability insurance, policy limits, and situations that the policy does not cover.

Premises liability insurance is crucial to protect your business from slip-and-fall and other injuries at your location. Learn how this coverage can shield your business from large bodily injury claims.

What Is Premises Liability Insurance?

Premises liability insurance Premises liability insurance is a type of insurance coverage that provides financial protection to property owners in the event that someone is injured or their property is damaged while on the insured premises.

The law stipulates that a premises owners are expected to provide reasonable safety and precaution to guests and licensees. This implies that the property owner is liable for any loss of property or personal injury that affects individuals who have been legally permitted to enter the premises. For example, the property owner is liable to pay for claims of a guest or customer who slips and fall in their premises. Trespassers have a very limited claim and may be compensated if they prove negligence on the part of the owner.

Even though the premises liability covers for damages and injury to legal visitors, it is important to understand that not all incidences of property loss or injury are covered. For instance, a physician in a hospital who injures a patient is not covered under the property owners’ premises liability coverage. Instead, the physician requires a professional liability insurance to cover for such injury.

Apart from this, it is also important to understand that if you lease space in a building, you have to acquire a premises liability insurance for the space leased. The landlord will not be liable for slip and fall or other accidents or loss of property that occur within your leased premises. However, if an injury occurs outside the leased space, like in the stairs or lobby, then the landlord will be liable.

This insurance policy can cover various types of properties such as a business property, a rental property or a private residence. The policy typically covers legal defense costs, medical expenses, and other damages that result from accidents or injuries that occur on the insured premises.

For example, if someone slips and falls on a wet floor at a business property and suffers an injury, the business owner's premises liability insurance would cover the injured person's medical expenses and any legal fees associated with the claim.

Premises liability insurance is an important coverage to have for property owners because accidents can happen unexpectedly and result in significant financial loss if not properly insured.

Premises Liability Insurance Policy Limits

Different insurers offer different terms. Most insurers usually offer a lower and upper limit of for liability. Although most property owner attempt to obtain policies that cover the majority of the claims, there exists a likelihood of the claim exceeding the upper limit an insurer provides. In case the claim goes beyond the stipulated policy limit, the property owner is usually liable for the excess expenses - unless the purchase an excess liability policy (umbrella) that extends coverage above the base policy limits.

Therefore, when choosing your premises liability insurance, it is important to assess, compare, and contrast the different policies on offer in the market. Industry experts and advisors suggest that property owners should work with experienced commercial agents. These agents would provide professional guidance based on risk assessment as well as their experience in the market.

Excluded Occurrences

Sometimes the leaser or owner may have premises liability insurance, but the insurer refuses to pay for claims. One of the reasons that an insurance company may refuse to pay is negligence or recklessness. If the owner does not take care of his property and refuses to put any precautionary measures, the insurer does not have to pay. The property owner owes a duty of care to his invitees and licensees in order to validate any claims that arise within the property.

In cases where the owner is strictly liable for the injury or property damage, the insurer would refuse to pay. Therefore, property owners should always ensure that their actions are not inherently harmful to visitors, guests, and other people within the premises. Dangerous actions such as storing harmful chemicals where customers can access qualify as strict liability, and the insurance company would not pay a claim.

The Bottom Line

The modern society has placed various obligations on property owners in a bid to ensure the safety of invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Property owners are required to cover for any loss of property or injury that occurs on their premises. For this reason, many take premises liability insurance, which protects them from property damage and injury within their premises. Prior to obtaining a premises liability coverage, owners have to understand that they owe a duty of care to people in their premises. As such, incidences of negligence or recklessness should be avoided for the insurers to pay for liability claims.

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The commercial insurance content available on this page is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal or financial advice.

General Liability Insure does not warrant or make any representations regarding the usefulness of or the expected results of the material contained on this website. You should contact your attorney, accountant and/or financial adviser to obtain advice with respect to any particular commercial insurance question, claim or issue.

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