Personal Injury Endorsement On My Homeowner’s Insurance
If you own a home, then you likely have homeowner’s insurance. This type of insurance allows those who own their home to rest easier knowing that if something unexpected should happen to their home or on their property, their insurance will protect them.
However, most people do not have a clear understanding of what is in their homeowner’s insurance policy. By not completely understanding the ins and outs of the policy, a homeowner could be caught off guard if they experience a sudden loss. They may discover that they will not be covered and left in sudden financial devastation. Most homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover every possible thing that could happen, and most policies actually include exclusions. However, homeowners can add policy riders (endorsements) to their policies to have added protections. A personal injury endorsement is one of these riders that we want to discuss.
What is a personal injury endorsement?
Under a standard homeowner’s insurance policy, or even a renter’s insurance policy, injuries that are covered under the policy typically include bodily injury damages that do not involve automobiles or are not business-related. However, most homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover a wide range of personal injury matters. That is why a homeowner may choose to add a personal injury rider to their policy. A personal injury endorsement on a homeowner’s insurance policy may cover the following:
- False arrest, imprisonment, or detention
- Malicious prosecution
- Wrongful eviction
- Wrongful entry into or invasion of the right of private occupancy of a room, premises, or dwelling
- Oral or written publication materials that slanders or libels another individual
- Oral or written publication of material that violates someone’s right to privacy
A personal injury rider on a homeowner’s insurance policy will also extend to the emotional damages that another person could sue you for. In many cases, this endorsement will help cover the legal costs of defending yourself against any litigation.
However, we need to point out that a homeowner’s insurance personal injury endorsement does not give you the right to post, write, or say disturbing things about other people. As with other insurance policies, personal injury endorsements will also have exclusions and limitations attached that must be adhered to. If a person who has one of these endorsements does something that they know is wrong, chances are that it will not be covered under the terms of the policy. This also applies to anything that the policyholder does that is illegal.
Personal injury endorsements on homeowner’s insurance policies are not retroactive, and they must be in place before a claim is filed.
There are other endorsements available for homeowner’s insurance policies
There are various other types of endorsements that are available to be added to a homeowner’s insurance policies. All of the following types of endorsements add additional protections that are not covered under traditional basic homeowner’s insurance policies:
- Flood insurance endorsements
- Earthquake endorsements
- Sewer backup endorsements
- Scheduled personal property endorsements
- Personal property replacement cost endorsements
- Home business endorsements
- Watercraft endorsements
- Theft coverage endorsements
If you are struggling to secure the compensation that you think you are rightfully owed by your homeowner’s insurance carrier, you may need to seek assistance from an Atlanta personal injury attorney skilled in handling insurance matters.