When you suffer an injury, you have options. As personal injury attorneys, we have handled thousands of cases. We usually file a claim and secure a settlement against the negligent party’s insurance policy.
All kinds of liability insurance policies are available, from car insurance to homeowners insurance. These policies protect negligent parties and the victims of accidents and injuries.
But we have seen an alarming spike in the number of people not carrying insurance, particularly homeowners insurance. In this blog, we explore the dangers of failing to purchase insurance. We also look at the other options available to injured plaintiffs when there is no insurance to target.
How Insurance Works Within Accident and Injury Legal Actions
Most people know how insurance works, but here’s a quick refresher, focusing specifically on accidents that result in legal action.
There are plenty of different types of insurance, and many people have at least one policy. Common types include:
- Car insurance.
- Medical insurance.
- Homeowners insurance.
- General or specific liability insurance.
You usually pay a monthly fee, which is called a premium. In the event of an accident, the insurance company will pay your associated costs up to the limits specified in the terms of your policy.
If you are injured and the accident was someone else’s fault, their insurance policy might cover your damages and expenses. When you hire a law firm after an accident, your legal team will issue a demand and negotiate a settlement through the negligent party’s insurance. This is called a pre-litigation settlement because it resolves a case without the need to file a lawsuit.
However, the process can become far more difficult when the negligent person who is responsible for your injuries does not have insurance.
Some policies are not optional. For example, California drivers are required to have car insurance. Some people ignore the law (about 15% of drivers), but the vast majority have at least some level of insurance.
However, a far greater problem, and a rising issue in California, is the number of people without homeowners insurance.
What is Homeowners Insurance?
Homeowners insurance is a type of financial coverage. It protects your home and belongings and covers your legal responsibility in the event of an accident or injury.
A homeowners insurance policy works just like most other types of insurance policies. It will pay out on areas of coverage up to your policy’s limits, minus any deductible. Unlike car insurance, it is not a legal requirement for homeowners.
The scenarios covered by homeowners insurance will depend on the scope of your policy. But the following are some of the key features that are commonly protected.
The Home:
A homeowners insurance policy usually protects a person’s home. For example, if the roof is damaged, the policy might cover the cost of repairs. It may also extend to separate associated structures, such as garages or sheds.
Property and Belongings:
Personal property coverage under a homeowners insurance policy can protect items within the home, such as furniture and electronics, from theft and damage. It may also extend to items in your car.
Accidents Within the Home:
A homeowners insurance policy can protect against accidents within your property, such as swimming pool accidents, slip-and-falls, and trampoline accidents. If you failed in your duty of care to visitors and someone suffered an injury in your home, an insurance policy can be used to cover medical bills or legal settlements.
Injuries Away from the Property:
Your homeowners insurance policy might also cover accidents that you are liable for outside your home. For example, if your dog bites someone in the park, this might be covered under your home insurance policy.
Why is Homeowners Insurance Important in Personal Injury Cases?
Homeowners insurance can be essential in resolving personal injury cases, both from the point of view of the liable party (the person at fault) and the injury victim.
For the property owner, insurance is critical in ensuring that you are not left paying a huge financial price for an accident. If someone is injured on your property, or your dog bites someone and causes significant injuries, the medical expenses can mount quickly. Insurance always seems like an unnecessary expense until you need it.
Accidents are unpredictable, and the only way to prepare and plan for them is through insurance. When an accident happens, the financial protection provided by your policy will be invaluable.
For the victim, an insurance policy gives you something to file a claim against. This ensures that the legal case will be relatively straightforward.
In most cases, filing a legal claim is not personal. It’s not to punish the person. They almost definitely did not want their dog to bite you, after all. But the victim is still left with pain and medical expenses after such an accident, and they deserve to be compensated fully for that.
The branches of a homeowners insurance policy that cover injuries are typically:
- Personal liability coverage: This covers injuries, treatments, and potential lawsuits when the policyholder is liable for an accident.
- Medical payments coverage: This can cover medical expenses required due to injuries on your property, both for the owner and others.
An expert personal injury law firm, such as Bisnar Chase, will often start by filing a claim against the negligent party’s insurance policy to secure a fair settlement.
Other Types of Insurance that Can Be Applied in Personal Injury Cases
Beyond homeowners insurance, there are other insurance policies that an injury victim can target after an accident. These include:
Renters Insurance: People who rent their homes rather than own them may have renters insurance. This coverage acts much like homeowners insurance. It typically covers fire, theft, damage, and accidents in the tenant’s rented home.
Landlord Insurance: If someone is renting your home, having your own insurance is a good idea. It is impossible to know how responsible a tenant will be. However, this form of insurance can cover accidents and damage on your property, even when you are not the occupant.
Dog Liability Insurance: Dog owners whose pets are not covered by other insurance policies can purchase additional insurance to ensure their pup is covered. As you can guess, these policies are specific to dogs. Depending on the terms of the policy, it could cover your dog’s vet and medical bills in the event of an accident or provide coverage if your dog attacks another person.
Dog Bites and Premises Liability Cases
At Bisnar Chase, we handle a wide range of personal injury cases. Two of the most common cases that often rely on homeowners or liability insurance are dog bites and dangerous premises actions.
Dog Bites: California’s strict liability dog bite laws hold the owner responsible when a dog attacks someone. Homeowners insurance often covers pets, even when an accident happens outside the home.
However, some insurance companies will only cover certain breeds. They may have a rule against covering dog breeds that are considered dangerous, such as pit bulls and rottweilers, even if the dogs have no record of aggression.
Many owners of these breeds might choose to purchase additional pet liability insurance if their pet is not covered by an existing policy.
Premises Liability: When an accident happens in a location that is owned or managed by a person or entity, this may constitute a premises liability case. The person responsible for a property or location is also responsible for ensuring it is safe and well-maintained. If someone suffers an injury due to the negligence of the property owner or manager, they may have a legal case.
A party is negligent when they knew or reasonably should have known about a hazard and failed to fix it in a timely manner. This sort of case can be applied to accidents in private homes, commercial stores, workplaces, and city/state-run locations.
When an accident happens in a private home, the owner’s insurance might cover it. Commercial premises are typically covered by a different type of liability insurance policy.
Did you know…?
More than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States. Over 60% of those bites happen within a home or on private property.
The Sudden Insurance Apocalypse
Not only are homeowners skipping out on insurance coverage, but the insurance companies themselves are pulling policies, especially in California and Florida.
According to Bankrate, The home insurance market in states like Florida and California is facing a crisis due to extreme weather events and regulatory challenges, which may soon impact other states across the U.S.
Fraud and previous catastrophic weather events like Hurricane Andrew have made Florida’s insurance problems worse. The increasing threat of wildfires and California’s regulatory restrictions contribute to insurer withdrawal. Extreme weather and climate change affect over 88% of home insurance claims nationwide.
Rates are increasing nationwide, with significant hikes observed in states like Massachusetts, Louisiana, and Colorado.
We are seeing an increasing number of accidents involving people who do not have insurance coverage. Recently, our team at Bisnar Chase has handled dog bite cases in which the owners did not have homeowners insurance, even though they owned homes of significant value.
While insurance is not a legal requirement if the property is paid off, forgoing protection is incredibly dangerous for the homeowner. It puts their home and everything inside at great risk in the event of an accident, a break-in, or a fire. It also puts them at significant risk if someone is injured on their premises.
A lack of insurance also presents a problem for those who suffer injuries, restricting their avenue for compensation after an accident and making any legal case more complex.
Why Do People Not Have Insurance?
Unlike car insurance, homeowners and liability insurance is not legally required if the property is not attached to a loan.
If you own a home and have a mortgage, the mortgage company will likely require the owner to have insurance to safeguard their investment. However, if you own your home outright, there is nothing forcing you to seek coverage.
For many people without insurance, it is a matter of cost. They do not want to pay the monthly premium to protect themselves. Instead, they simply hope that nothing will go wrong. But just hoping for the best is a risky strategy that can turn your life upside down in an instant.
Other Instances Where Insurance Might Not Cover an Injury
Even people with insurance policies may not be covered in the event of an accident, such as a dog bite or a slip-and-fall.
As we have mentioned, some insurers refuse to extend a policy to cover certain dog breeds, especially when those breeds are deemed dangerous or high-risk.
Another common issue is low policy limits. A negligent party, such as a dog owner, might have insurance. However, their policy limits are sometimes too low to cover the required medical bills and settlement. The policy limits cap the amount of recoverable compensation.
Whenever you take out an insurance policy, you must know its terms and limits. You are responsible for ensuring that you are adequately protected.
Options for Injury Victims When There is No Insurance
The absence of an insurance policy complicates legal action. But it does not necessarily mean that the injured victim has no options.
- We can file a lawsuit against the at-fault individual rather than an insurance policy.
- A third party may share some responsibility and could be targeted for compensation.
- The victim could pursue the case through Small Claims Court. However, small claims judgments are often limited to $12,500, which may not cover your injuries. You must also go through the process alone – a lawyer cannot represent you.
Filing a Lawsuit
For most law firms, an accident must be serious and result in severe injuries to consider filing a lawsuit and entering litigation. This is because lawsuits are complex, time-consuming, and expensive.
If a lawsuit is successful, a judgment will have to come from the personal finances of the at-fault party – now known as the debtor. If they do not pay voluntarily, options for collection include:
- A court-ordered installment plan: The sum will be broken up into manageable payments.
- A bank levy: Money will be removed from the at-fault party’s account and transferred to the victim via a levying officer.
- Wage garnishment: Up to 25% of a person’s wages can be withheld to pay an injury victim.
- Property/asset lien: Under a lien, the debtor cannot sell their property or assets until the victim is paid first. For example, a judgment could be paid from the proceeds of a house sale.
Pursuing the at-fault party through a lawsuit is not the first choice for most lawyers, and this option will depend on the type and severity of an accident.
No matter what, you should contact us at Bisnar Chase after an accident. We will thoroughly investigate your accident and identify any potential insurance policies that can be targeted. Whether or not an insurance policy is present, we will guide you on the best steps that you can take.
Our team comprises dedicated professionals who take their responsibility seriously. We will fight to ensure you are fully compensated.
When is a Third Party Responsible?
In some accidents, more than one party is at fault. When multiple responsible parties share a degree of blame, you may have options. Even if one of the parties does not have insurance to target, a third party may.
For example, potential third parties that could share responsibility for a dog attack include:
- Landlords: If a dog bite occurred within a rented property and the landlord knew the dog was potentially dangerous, they could be liable.
- Caregivers: Paid dog walkers, dog daycare providers, and pet sitters could all share the blame if an accident happens on their watch.
- City authority: The city could share culpability under certain circumstances if an attack happens on public land.
- Security: If a security company fails to secure a gate, resulting in a dog or person being where they should not be, they may share liability if a bite occurs.
These are just some scenarios and examples of potentially liable third parties. It is also important to remember that multiple parties can be targeted in a legal action if they share responsibility.
You can trust Bisnar Chase to explore all options to give you the best possible chance of recovering the compensation you deserve.
Landlord Responsibility
A landlord is not automatically responsible for the actions of a tenant’s dog. They must have been aware that a risk existed and have the power to do something about it.
For example, if a landlord had received complaints from neighbors about a tenant’s dog and failed to act, they would have failed in their duty of care and share liability. However, if the landlord was unaware that their renter had a dog and had no chance to take action, that would mitigate their responsibility.
Dog Bite Injuries and Damages
Dog bites can be extremely painful and cause lasting issues for the victims. Even good-natured dogs can attack when they are stressed or have not been properly trained.
Common dog bite injuries include:
- Puncture wounds.
- Torn flesh.
- Damage to muscles, ligaments, or tendons.
- Blood loss.
- Infections.
- Emotional trauma and PTSD.
Even seemingly minor bites can turn into serious issues. Many people will shrug off a bite from a smaller dog as though it is not a big deal. But any dog bite can quickly develop an infection.
Our attorneys fight for compensation and damages for medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more. Contact Bisnar Chase for a free consultation and expert guidance.
