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Bodily Injury - A Minefield
Bodily injury liability coverage is an element of many differenttypes of insurance policies (auto, homeowner's and businessinsurance) and is meant to protect an individual should physicalharm come to him or her through the action or inaction ofanother. Liability for physical harm or death of a person causedby negligent or intentional acts or omissions of an insured. Itincludes sickness or disease contracted by the injured person asa result of an injury.Auto Insurance and Bodily Injury CoverageThere are generally six parts to an all-inclusive auto insurancepolicy: personal property liability, personal injury protection(PIP), uninsured motorist coverage, comprehensive coverage,collision and bodily injury liability. Personal propertyliability covers the policyholder against property damage he orshe causes in the event of an accident; PIP covers thepolicyholder and his or her passengers in case of injury;uninsured motorist coverage protects the driver in the eventthat he or she is involved in an accident with another driverwho is uninsured; comprehensive coverage protects the car owneragainst theft and natural disasters; and, collision coveragepays for repairs to the policyholder's vehicle should it beinvolved in accident. The bodily injury portion of the coverageis designed to protect the policyholder in the event that he orshe causes physical injury to another person while operating avehicle.Every U.S. state requires that drivers in their jurisdictionsinclude a set minimum amount of bodily injury coverage as partof the auto insurance policy. These state-mandated limits,however, are generally not enough to cover a very seriousaccident and most insurance experts suggest purchasing more thanthe legal minimum. In the event of a serious bodily injury claimand subsequent lawsuit, a policyholder could be in jeopardy oflosing his or her home and property. Those who have substantialassets to protect might also want to consider purchasing anumbrella policy that provides supplemental coverage to theexisting ones.Homeowner's Insurance and Bodily Injury CoverageOne of the most nightmarish scenarios any homeowner can imagineis one in which a visitor to the home is seriously injured insome way. Friendships and family ties have been broken over suchcircumstances and finances have been left in ruin. Everyresponsible homeowner should review his or her existinghomeowner's policy and determine what sorts of accidents orinjuries are the responsibilities of the homeowner and which arenot. All homeowner's policies offer some sort of bodily injuryliability coverage for both visitors and residents. Thiscoverage protects against just about every possible circumstancethat could lead to physical injury in the home and includesinjuries caused by the homeowner and anyone residing within thehome. Any injuries caused by household pets are also covered.There are some situations, however, in which bodily injury thatoccurs on a homeowner's premises is not covered by thehomeowner's insurance policy. If the homeowner runs a businessfrom the home and the injury sustained relates to the businessin any way, there is no coverage. If the injury occurs in arented property, then the homeowner's insurance will not coverit â€" renter's insurance should contain the necessary coverage.Another circumstance in which coverage is not provided throughthe homeowner's policy is when the injury is proven to beintended or expected by the homeowner.Business Insurance and Bodily Injury CoverageThere are two types of insurance that every business owner needsin order to ensure that he or she is not left vulnerable tolawsuits stemming from bodily injuries that occur at the placeof business and thats liability insurance and workman'scompensation insurance. Liability insurance (optional) ispurchased separately from any other policy and protects thepolicyholder in case anyone within the place of business isinjured. If the property is not actually owned by the businessowner then whoever does own the property will have to carry anadditional liability policy or be added to the business owner'sexisting one.Workman's compensation coverage is designed to protect theemployees of a business in case they are injured while on thejob. Every state requires that businesses carry it and eachjurisdiction has a different set of rules for how it works. Ingeneral, the employee is covered for any death or injury thatoccurs on the job or any illness that is caused by the job.Workman's compensation coverage covers medical expenses,rehabilitation expenses, lost wages and any other costs incurredbecause of the injury or illness. Although an employee iscovered even if the accident leading to injury is his or herfault, intentional acts are not covered - neither is thoseinjuries sustained because of drug or alcohol use.
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