Sunday, November 25, 2012

Can I Be Sued For More Without Adequate Coverage?


The most common questions related to coverage concerns what happens when there is not enough of it. Many individuals and small companies wonder if the claim amount in a lawsuit will be higher with inadequate coverage. The simple answer to the question is no, the individual or company cannot be further obligated simply because they did not have enough coverage to cover their potential legal responsibility. Nevertheless, the financial responsibility for the under-covered will be significantly greater than for the individual or company who has the necessary coverage.

Why a Policy Fails

A term like inadequate coverage can have a rather broad meaning. Sometimes an individual or company will expose themselves to risk in an effort to save money up front. The idea is essentially a gamble on the future to save money now. Individuals and companies also have inadequate coverage at times not because they chose to expose themselves but because the policy fails them in some way. Typically, a policy fails because the policyholder and policy owner did not properly assess the industry. Either the policy did not have enough coverage, or it did not have coverage for a particular component of the claim.

Umbrella Coverage

Sometimes a policy fails in a way that is unpredictable. Markets change, and it is impossible for a policymaker to account for all possibilities. In light of this, companies have an option called umbrella coverage. Dollar for dollar, an umbrella policy is more expensive than a standard policy. On the other hand, the umbrella aspect will not let a policy fail due to a lack of robustness. However, umbrella policies can still fail because the financial responsibility is greater than the policy limit.

Owner Coverage

There are some scenarios where financial responsibility can extend beyond the company to the individuals that own it. The risk here is that with inadequate coverage, the individual is essentially sued directly. Owner coverage is a type of umbrella policy, also called a catchall policy, which protects the individual in the event that the financial obligation extends that far. Catchall coverage is only as robust as the policies it is linked to, so it requires a strong protection plan in place in order to be effective.

Types of Responsibility

Financial responsibility for a company or individual is not a simple matter, and it usually consists of many different facets. Beyond the basic responsibility coverage and the owner coverage, there is coverage for property-related damages, damages caused by products and services, errors and omissions, and policies for automobiles that the company uses. Typically, all of these policies are bound under a single master umbrella policy.

Income Protection

A claim can hit a company so hard that it has difficulty maintaining its current profit level, which can result in loss of income for the owner and others. This happens often when there is insufficient coverage, but it can also happen with proper coverage if the claim is particularly large and severe. So income protection is another form of coverage that protects one or more individuals' incomes, which can give those people and perhaps the company an opportunity to get back on its feet.

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