A Snowman and His Umbrella

Oh! There's no place like home for the holidays....Truer words were never spoken.  At this special time of year, we open our homes to friends and family to celebrate the joy of the season.  Parties, cookie exchanges, neighborhood caroling- the possibilities are endless.   Enter the Insurance Grinch!

Every time we open our door to "friends, family and others", we open the door to a potential lawsuit. Consider these possibilities:

• On his way home from your Holiday Open House, one of your guests is involved in an auto accident with another party.  After your guest fails the sobriety test, it is revealed that you were the host that served him alcohol.  Several weeks later, the injured party serves you with a lawsuit alleging "social host liability".
• The neighbors are caroling door-to-door.  After they serenade you with "Silver and Gold", one of the carolers slips and falls on your steps, resulting in a knee replacement surgery and lost time from work. Weeks later, your neighbor serenades you with a "negligence lawsuit".
• Being the home with the best sled riding hill in the cul-de-sac, the nearby kids love to bring their assortment of sleds and toboggans to your backyard.  Uh-oh!  You guessed it.  One of the kids loses control of his homemade sled and incurs a serious injury.  Ding dong.  Special delivery of a "failure to provide a safe sledding area" lawsuit.
• Finally, it's the night before Christmas and a burglar breaks into your home. You catch the burglar in the act and shoot him with your legally registered firearm.  Now, the burglar sues YOU for shooting him "negligently".  (Folks, I'm not making this stuff up!  Here is the real life story of such a case.)

The good news is that many of these types of lawsuits will be covered by your home or renter's policy. (You do have such a policy, right?)  However, why not supplement your coverage with a personal umbrella liability policy?  For as little as $150 a year, you can purchase a $1,000,000 umbrella policy. That's an added layer of protection for your assets in the event of a catastrophic lawsuit.

Crooner Perry Como sings another line in the song,  "If you wanna be happy in a million ways", - a hint from Perry about securing a personal $1,000,000 umbrella policy? Perhaps.  Sam the Snowman in Rudolph has carried a green umbrella for years.  Another suggestion?  Maybe.  Contact your Trusted Choice agent and discuss an umbrella liability policy today.