Will Homeowner’s Insurance Cover Every Injury That Happens At Home?

Homeowner’s insurance typically covers your liability for any injuries to visitors or guests on your property. This liability coverage can apply in situations where you or your family member cause an injury to a guest on your property or where a guest is injured through no negligence on your part. Although coverage varies depending on the policy, many policies will cover someone’s medical expenses, general pain and suffering damages, and even sometimes lost wages for time off work from the injury.

Here’s an example of a situation that would likely be covered by your homeowner’s insurance: say your kid has a friend over to do homework, but they wind up getting into a fight with each other and your child breaks the other child’s arm. Your homeowner’s insurance liability coverage would cover that other child’s injury because your child caused the injury and it occurred at your house. Now if you take that same situation, but this time say the child who was the guest broke your child’s arm, then the injury would likely not be covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy. Similarly, if a babysitter were to unintentionally injure your child in your home that would not be typically covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy. But, if the babysitter is supplied by a service company, there may be coverage that would protect you against harm by the sitter. This is typically the case with “adult sitter” services for the elderly.

Another common situation involves injuries to guests on your property caused by your household pet. Say you have an invited guest or an unexpected visitor on your property and your dog bites and injures them, such an injury would likely be covered by your homeowner’s insurance, but if you or your family member at the house got bit and injured by your dog, that would not be covered.

In situations where the injury on your property happens to you or your family member, although your homeowner’s insurance won’t cover the injury, your health insurance would still cover your medical expenses. Further, if a guest injures you on your property, it is possible that the guest may have a policy that covers their wrongful conduct regardless of their location. People can buy coverage to protect many situations that are out of the ordinary. So though liability insurance traditionally is tied to insuring for coverage for conduct at a particular location, it is always wise to consult any attorney especially if the injury is serious.