What Premises Liability Insurance Covers

Premises liability insurance provides landowners and tenants with protection against claims of injury occurring on the property. This insurance, though, might not completely remove the tenant or landowner from liability.

General Coverage Information

Most premises liability insurance contracts apply to all situations in which an invitee or licensee is injured on the property. If the property is rented, most rental policies include this coverage. Additionally, a landlord may carry coverage simultaneously to the tenant’s coverage.

This coverage extends to medical and other costs associated with an injury, such as pain and suffering, permanent disfigurement and loss of income. To be entitled to payment, the injured party must have suffered an injury while on the other party’s property.

Potential Exception: Exceeding Limits

While a premise liability insurance policy offers some protection against personal injury claims, a claim that exceeds policy limits will fall into the lap of the landowner or tenant of the property. Therefore, the party with possession and control of the party may have some financial responsibility for the injury.

Potential Exception: Extreme Negligence

An extremely negligent landlord, tenant or an extremely negligent behavior of either could negate premises liability insurance coverage. This is because most insurance companies and contracts state that coverage only extends to those events which are foreseeable or not caused by extremely reckless or negligent behavior. A landowner running across his land shooting wildly who happens to hit and injure a guest he invited onto the land, therefore, may not find himself covered when faced with a lawsuit.

Potential Exception: Strict Liability

There are some activities and behaviors that the law has identified as “strict liability” actions. These types of activities automatically make a landowner or tenant responsible for the injuries befalling a guest. These types of behaviors are considered inherently dangerous, unreasonable and unpredictable, and include such things storing large amounts of gasoline on the property. In a situation in which injury was caused by a strict liability and insurance company might deny claim or refute coverage.

Getting Legal Help

If you own or are a tenant of a property and a guest has been injured on your property, seek legal assistance about your possible liability. An attorney will analyze the facts of your case and determine whether or not your premise liability insurance provides coverage for the injury.