When you own a home, you face a lot of different risks on your own. However, your home poses a risk not just to you and your family, but to other people as well. Whenever someone steps onto your property, they could get hurt. That person might request or even sue you for compensation for their injuries.
This risk of injury to third parties on your property makes it necessary for you to get liability coverage when you buy home insurance. Liability coverage can help you protect yourself from damages you might cause to others. In many cases, home insurance liability coverage can protect multiple unique instances of injury, among them, the risk of pet bites.
Should your pet accidentally bite or injure a visitor in your home, you might have to assist that person with their medical treatment. If you have coverage for pet bites, your liability insurance can help you afford these costs.
Nonetheless, you should always still make sure that you introduce proper safety mechanisms to prevent pet-related injuries to your guests.
- Always remember that every pet, no matter how docile, could cause injury to another person. Your pet shares your home, and any visitor to your home is also visiting your pet’s territory.
- Perhaps a child begins to pull a dog’s tail. Even though the dog is a wonderful, loving pet, the child’s actions may hurt the animal. When you have a guest in your home, encourage that person to be friendly, loving and attentive towards your pet. If you notice a guest disturbing the pet, encourage a better form of interaction.
- Allow a period of time for your guests and pets to warm up to one another. Do not force your guests to interact with pets, and certainly do not force the pets to interact with guests. If your pet is skittish around guests, make sure you give the pet a space where it can retire in the event of guests being in the home.
- If you begin to notice patterns of pet hostility towards guests, consider enrolling the pet in behavior or training classes. These classes can do wonders to helping a pet adapt to being around guests. If your pet is extremely hostile, consider putting the pet in a pen or outside.
- Even innocent pet behaviors, like jumping or swatting, might injure a guest. Always respect the guest’s space, and encourage the pet with other forms of play.
Always check how your liability insurance covers pet injuries to third parties. If you have exotic pets, the policy may exclude coverage because of the risks these pets pose to residences. Liability coverage also often comes with a funding limit of how much it will pay. Therefore, make sure you can adequately compensate injured parties for pet damages.
Peachstate Insurance has your coverage needs in mind. We can help you get a home insurance quote with the right liability coverage. Call us at 877.997.2478 for more information on Douglasville home insurance.