Many of us are eager to get together with family and friends this holiday season but you may want to talk to your insurance agent before hosting a holiday party at your home.
If you own your home, you already have a homeowner’s insurance policy, so you may be covered if someone slips and falls at your home or gets hurt in some other way. But does your homeowner’s insurance policy offer enough protection if you’re hosting a holiday gathering?
NBC 6 Responds spoke with Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute about this topic.
He says you may want to consider adding what’s known as Umbrella Coverage, which will give you at least a million dollars of extra coverage.
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“You can start at a million but you can add much more. For example, say you bought a million dollars of umbrella coverage to give you further protection for liability, that costs on average about $200 to $250 per year.
Friedlander says it’s not unusual for a homeowner to be sued after hosting a holiday party.
”We have many cases where they’ve been sued by relatives, the homeowner’s been sued by their best friend they’ve known for 20 to 30 years. Don’t make any assumptions. If somebody gets in a serious accident and racks up say a million dollars or more of medical expenses or other related bills, they’re going to come after you,” he said.
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Considering extra coverage, Friedlander says, is especially important if you’re serving alcohol and you have underage guests who will be coming to your home.
The bottom line, reach out to your insurance agent before your party.
Talk to them about the details. How many people you’ve invited, will you be serving alcohol. They’ll be able to guide you and let you know if you really need additional coverage.
