How insurance helps when you get hurt while running errands

Maybe you stop by a friend’s house to return a book that you borrowed last month. Perhaps you needed to stop at the pharmacy to pick up your child’s asthma inhaler. When you go out to run basic errands, you might expect to check some things off your to-do list, but you don’t expect that you will wind up suffering a serious injury.

For those who slip and fall at a store or who take a tumble down someone’s front steps, serious injury can result from a momentary loss of balance. Can you rely on insurance to take care of you when you get hurt on someone else’s property?

Your insurance may not pay for everything

You carry health insurance, which you could potentially use when you go to the doctor or the hospital after a slip-and-fall incident. However, if the professionals providing your care put a note in your chart about where you fell because you explained how you tumbled down the stairs at your friend’s house or slipped on some spilled coffee at the store, your health insurance policy may not cover your costs.

In situations where another party technically has liability for your injuries, your personal health insurance policy might decline to pay. In a subrogation situation, they initially pay but then make a claim against the other party or their insurance.

You can save yourself coinsurance costs and payments toward your deductible by making a claim directly against that responsible party’s insurance yourself.

Most people and businesses have premises liability coverage

Individuals who have visitors to their homes and businesses open to the public are at risk if someone gets hurt on their property. Premises liability coverage protects property owners and businesses from major financial losses when someone gets hurt at their property.

Businesses may have a general business liability policy or a special premises liability insurance policy. Individual homeowners will have premises liability coverage through their homeowner’s insurance policy. Even a renter or their landlords may have insurance that can cover your costs.

Understanding what insurance will help pay for medical bills, property damage and lost income after a slip-and-fall will protect you from the financial consequences of your recent injury.