Home insurance

largepants

Hi. Would anyone know if home insurance automatically covers public liability or is it an extra? Is there anywhere I can get information on it.

Thanks

L. Pants.

Toots

I doubt it, AFAIK a public liability insurance would usually require a seperate policy. I know my own home insurance doesn't offer that cover anyway. Best bet is ring a broker, they'll be able to advise you if they know any insurance providers offering this package. BTW, what exactly are you looking for the public liability insurance to cover?

oldyouth

A household comprehensive policy will automatically cover Public Liability in respect of your ownership/occupancy of your home for domestic activities only. Basically, if anyone gets injured while on your property due to some defect in the home or from the activity of the occupants. Examples would be the dog biting the postman, a visitor tripping over a bit of loose carpet, an electric shock from an appliance etc.

These policies specifically exclude losses from ANY business activity carried out within the boundary of the site. So if you are operating even a small office from an outbuilding, you need to get separate cover for this and you need to tell your home insurance company that such an activity is going on

largepants

Thanks for the replies. Recently there was an accident where there was a serious injury. Just wondering about the implications.

oldyouth

largepants wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Recently there was an accident where there was a serious injury. Just wondering about the implications.

Just had a further thought Largepants, a standard household policy also covers Public Liability where you might engage someone in to do minor work around the house, rather than engage them on a regular basis. Again, examples might be to get someone in to fix broken window, cut the grass, erect a satelite dish etc.
Remember, just 'cos an accident happens on your property doesn't make it your responsibility. If a professional makes a stupid mistake while doing the job, that's his problem. If you provide him with defective gear to do it or in an unsafe place, well then it is yours

tryu

Just out of curiosity, if I rented a bouncy castle and someone had an accident whilst using it, would they be able to claim under my household insurance/public liability?

Toots

Funnily enough, the whole bouncy castle thing is a bit of a grey area, I know of a family who rented one for their son's 18th and one of the partygoers broke his leg on it (yes there was probably drink involved) and they had a terrible time getting the insurance to pay out on it because there was a question over whether it fell under the 'domestic activities' category. If you're planning to rent one, your best bet would be to contact your insurance provider and get them to issue you with something in writing confirming whether or not you're insured. AFAIK, a lot of these bouncy castle rental places will offer you insurance when you rent the castle.

largepants

The actual accident didn't happen on my property but on the property of a relative. It involved a member of my family who unfortunately lost a limb. Obviously this person will need to be looked after for the future. However if there are implications for the relative with regards to insurance I would not have any interest in making any sort of a claim. I did speak with the relative and they stated they have set the wheels in motion regards looking after the person in question.

oldyouth

largepants wrote: »

The actual accident didn't happen on my property but on the property of a relative. It involved a member of my family who unfortunately lost a limb. Obviously this person will need to be looked after for the future. However if there are implications for the relative with regards to insurance I would not have any interest in making any sort of a claim. I did speak with the relative and they stated they have set the wheels in motion regards looking after the person in question.

OK largepants, so we are dealing with a fairly serious topic here now and I see where you are coming from. You will appreciate that I do not want to be a bar room lawyer, so I'll just quote another term under the policy in that someone cannot claim under the public liability section of the policy if that person ordinarily lives with the policyholder as a family member.
I don't know if this is the case or not but I hope things work out

libertas

I wonder how that works as regards liability and lodgers staying in the house under the rent a room scheme?

largepants

Yes, it's a fairly serious issue. The person does not ordinarily live with the policyholder in question. They were visiting at the time. It was a very unfortunate freak accident and I only wish the clock could be turned back but the reality is that it can't.

Claiming is not something I had even considered up to the conversation with the policyholder. But they stated that they are paying insurance for years and the future of the child needs to be looked after. It's a difficult one as I'm not sure how it will affect the insurance of the policyholder.

tryu

This is a very personal issue and my thoughts are with you. As the policyholder is a relative, I would suggest that you wait a while and see what they are doing about the situation. I can understand that you would hesitate before making a claim against their house insurers but as far as I am aware it is unlike car insurance - no "no claims bonus".

Whatever happens, I hope things work out and I wish you and your family all the best for the future.